


Casting Shadows

by FieryArtemis



Series: Casting Shadows AU [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Anti-Hero, Chat Blanc - Freeform, F/M, alyabug and nino noir, casting shadows au, roleswap!Au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-05-07 15:19:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 40,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5461223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FieryArtemis/pseuds/FieryArtemis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alya and Nino are Paris's famous heroes, Ladybug and Cat Noir. With the help of their Miraculous and kwami, they work together to stop Hawmoth and his akuma. When their friend Adrien becomes the akuma Chat Blanc, however, everything changes. Adrien, though freed from the akuma, still becomes Chat Blanc... and he's got a plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Origins

**Author's Note:**

> Well would you look at this! The start of a new AU. The thing that's been bubbling in my mind for a few weeks is now on paper… computer screen. I'll be honest. I have no idea how long this will be. Part of my goal is to get the world establishing stuff down (such as origins and whatnot) and maybe write oneshots or short stories that all fall on a single plot. Updates will be a little more sporadic than Holding Out for a Hero. We'll see but I'm really excited about this! Oh side note! Straight up Marichat/Adrienette AU pairing with a side of Alya/Nino.

"Hey there Kit Cat Pattywhack!" Ladybug grinned as she dropped beside her partner Cat Noir. Cat Noir jumped about five feet in the air in surprise.

"Don't  _do that_!" he gasped, clutching his chest and glaring daggers at Ladybug. Ladybug laughed and poked him on the shoulder. Cat Noir rolled his eyes before brushing her hand away lightly. Ladybug relented. She sat down beside him on the rooftop ledge.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that peeping into other people's windows is kinda frowned upon?" teased Ladybug as she flipped her thick brown and auburn braid back over her shoulder. "It can be seen as stalking."

Cat Noir removed his hood and ran his hand over his close cut dark hair. "I was just really worried about Adrien dude."

"You know people who turn into akuma don't remember what happened." Ladybug reminded him. She squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. Cat Noir wrapped his own hand around hers and squeezed back.

"I know but seeing him that angry today… it messed me up man. He would've gotten away had he not stopped to save Marinette. You realize that, right?"

"Don't remind me please." Ladybug grimaced. She could still see her best friend's terrified face as the upper railing from the floor above had snapped and fallen. Had Chat Blanc  _not_  pushed her out of the way, it would've meant a lot more than just him getting away. "It messed me up too." she admitted quietly.

"You're right though. Everything is going to be fine now. Chat Blanc was difficult to take down but nobody got hurt." Cat Noir reminded her pointedly. The look on his face was tentative and reassuring. Most likely because he'd accidentally dredged up the horrible mental image now running through Ladybug's mind. She raised her eyebrow at him. Cat Noir gave her a pretty convincing smile in return.

Ladybug laughed a little, "I'm just glad Chat Blanc is out of our hair! He was a little annoying."

Cat Noir groaned and buried his face in his hands. "I didn't realize that Adrien knew so many  _terrible_ puns! I'm almost ashamed to call him my best friend."

"They were pretty bad.  _Feline_  generous?  _Cat_ astrophe? Your boy needs to get off the internet and into the real world. It's a good thing Marinette didn't realize Chat Blanc was Adrien. That would've killed her romantic dreams."

"I don't know. Him shoving her out of the way like some shojo manga bishonen hero would've won him some major points I think." Cat Noir smirked. "I think your girl would easily overlook some awful puns for that kind of treatment."

"Marinette, if anything, is a forgiving person." Ladybug smirked back. "Ugh! Those two just need to get over whatever weirdness is going on between them and just date already."

"They're getting there… even without your constant 'help.'" Cat Noir shrugged.

Ladybug's only response was a broad grin.

They fell silent and looked through the massive window on the mansion in front of them. The blond teenaged boy sitting at his desk had his head bent over his book. Adrien Agreste was completely oblivious to the pandemonium he'd caused and was concentrating on his homework. He also didn't realize that out of all of Hawkmoth's akumas, he'd become the one that had come the closest to stealing their Miraculous. That was a scary thought. Cat Noir had a lot of difficulty contending with Chat Blanc's fencing skills. Ladybug hadn't really been able to pin him down either because of how fast he was. It was a good thing that it was all over.

"We really should get going." he said as he pushed himself to his feet. Cat Noir pulled his hood back up before offering his hand to Ladybug. Ladybug took it.

"Yeah, before someone sees us and wonders if you have a thing for Adrien Agreste." she joked with him.

Cat Noir rolled his eyes, "Or how about before Plagg and Tikki decide they can't hold a transformation any longer and we're stuck up here in our civilian identities."

"Oh but that was so much fun the last time." Ladybug grinned mischievously.

"This is why you and Plagg get along so well." he muttered under his breath. "Can I walk you home?"

"I don't know." sighed Ladybug. "My significant other might not like it."

"I'm your significant other."

"No, you're Alya's significant other. I'm Ladybug."

"You and you're infallible ways of keeping our identities safe. Well can  _Nino_ walk  _Alya_  home then?"

"Alya would probably be okay with that." she nodded.

X X X

Adrien's hands were shaking. His homework was forgotten and still open textbooks were pushed off to the side of his desk. His entire attention was on his rapt on the computer screen in front of him. An overwhelming urge to be sick was choking him. He'd lost three hours that afternoon.  _Three hours_! One minute he'd been livid that his father was going to miss another one of his exhibitions, a fencing match this time, and the next he was coming to in the destroyed school courtyard literally three hours later. He'd still been dressed in his fencing gear for Heaven's sake! That didn't just happen! "Nino lied." he whispered. "Nino lied to me."

He had  _asked_  Nino if he'd turned into Chat Blanc. Nino had told him no, of course not. The entire thing had made Nino laughed. Even then Adrien hadn't been convinced. Nino's laugh had been too forced. The situation had been way too coincidental. Adrien had woken up with Ladybug and Cat Noir high fiving each other a few feet away from him. However, he'd been so desperate for reassurement that he'd listened to Nino. Now, though, as he looked at the white leather and mask wearing teen in the photos on the Ladyblog… there was no way that Adrien could deny it.

Somebody had gotten video. He didn't know who because Alya had also told him that she hadn't been around for the akuma attack either.  _Probably because she'd been making googly eyes with Nino in a janitor's closet somewhere_ , Adrien thought bitterly. He watched every second of the video, three times almost. Each time it made him more and more queasy. That was  _his_  voice coming from Chat Blanc's mouth. That was  _him_  making all those jokes and puns. That was  _Adrien Agreste_  ducking and darting past Cat Noir and Ladybug's attacks.  _He_ was wielding that fencing foil! He groaned and buried his head in his arms. "I don't remember any of this! How could Nino just lie to me about this?"

Then Adrien stopped. Maybe Nino  _hadn't_  lied. Nino hadn't even been there during the Chat Blanc fiasco. He'd said something about being in the Audio-Visual room so maybe Nino really hadn't known. Maybe he'd just been basing his answer off of what he knew about Adrien's personality. It was possible. He should've called someone else to for reassurance.

Adrien sighed and rubbed his face. "How am I going to go to school tomorrow? I can't face everyone knowing that I nearly took out half the school." he mumbled.

He pushed himself out of his chair and wandered to his window. His head hit the glass with a thunk. It wasn't his fault and yet at the same time it was his fault. Adrien had worked so hard to be the model student and perfect son. He was a well mannered boy and a raised gentleman. Or at least he was supposed to be. People like that didn't just snap and turn into monsters. Adrien had though…

He knew he wasn't perfect. That he struggled to fit into the role that had been assigned to him since before he could remember. Heaven knew that he failed miserably at times to be the perfect kid he was expected to be but he didn't think that made him a bad person. So why had he become an akuma then? He wasn't a bad person… was he? Maybe he was. Why else had he just gone off the deep end so easily and went on a rage fuelled rampage? Adrien buried his head in his hands and slid down the length of the windows.

_Pat pat pat_. The sound of something fluttering against the glass made him look up. A butterfly was caught in his blinds above his head. Adrien stood up and reached for the butterfly gently. "Huh, how'd you get stuck up there little guy?" he asked it quietly as his fingers wrapped around it delicately.

" _I am Papilion_ ,"  _whispered a voice in Adrien's ear. "You have worked so hard and been ignored so much by those around you. Every moment of your life has been regimented and for what? To live life in isolation, caged, and miserable. They don't even see how stifled you are because they don't even pay attention to you."_

" _They don't… not at all."_

" _I can give you your freedom. I can make you stand out. You can force everyone to pay attention."_

" _You can?"_

" _Yes and all I want in return is for you to claim Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous. Does that sound fair to you?"_

" _It does."_

" _Then go, Chat Blanc!"_

Adrien screamed. The butterfly went hurtling across his bedroom as Adrien threw it as hard as he possibly could. He  _knew_ that voice. It had been as soft and delicate as the butterfly he'd been holding. Everything that voice had said had felt like silk and tasted sweet to his hurt feelings. "Stay away from me!" he snapped angrily.

It fluttered off to his bed, hovering right above his practice foil. Adrien snatched a book from a table. "Oh no you don't! Get back here you… Not again!" growled Adrien as he raised the book over his head.

The butterfly didn't seem to particularly phased however. It dodged Adrien's swing lazily and flew around his head. His heart stopped when it landed on his head. Images flooded his brain.

" _Is that the best you got Ladybug?" Chat Blanc asked as he sidestepped an attack. He raised his foil and lunged for her. "You don't even_ bug  _me at all."_

" _C'mon Adrien! This isn't you!" Cat Noir implored as he stepped in to counter a strike with his staff. Chat Blanc easily recovered. Cat Noir jumped back. The power flowed through through him. With his foil in hand, Chat Blanc knew he could take on the world. Everyone would be looking at him. No one could cage him. He was free. He smiled at the joy of it._

" _Why would I go back to being_ him _? I'm free now and this is who I am! I_ won't  _let you take this from me."_

"Stop!" Adrien begged. "I get it! I messed up. I hurt people because I was selfish! I'm sorry. I didn't mean it!"

" _Marinette!" Ladybug's scream cut through the air as the sound of metal breaking shrieked in his ears._

_Chat Blanc looked over. The tiny black haired girl stared up at the platform above her head with panicked wide blue eyes. The railing from the platform was coming down on top of her. She wasn't going to be able to get out of the way. Marinette would be crushed._

_Chat Blanc lips pulled tight over his teeth. His grin died and a hiss replaced it. He sprinted towards Marinette. Ladybug and Cat Noir both screamed and started forward to save their friend. They weren't fast enough… but he was. Marinette went flying sideways as Chat Blanc shoved her as hard as he could. She landed safely on the other of the fallen railing. Chat Blanc couldn't see her as the fallen railing blocked his view but the shocked and relieved looks on Ladybug and Cat Noir's faces told him that he'd been successful. He paid for the act though… with his power._

Adrien hit the ground, knees shaking. He'd saved Marinette. He'd been an akuma but he'd risked his life to save someone.

_Ladybug cast her yoyo out and snatched his foil from his hand._

" _No!" yelled Chat Blanc but Ladybug had already broken the foil over her knee. A black butterfly flew out of the pieces. Defeated… by a freaking yoyo. How stupid was that!_

The butterfly untangled itself from his hair. Adrien looked up at it as it danced through the air. It's wings were snow white. The butterfly that Ladybug had cleansed had been black. Tentatively, he reached up for it once more. "Y… you aren't an akuma are you?" he murmured.

The little white butterfly fluttered its wings. Adrien couldn't figure out if it was an irritated flutter or an affirmative flutter. Maybe it was both. He didn't know. Adrien wasn't exactly an expert in interpreting butterfly. However, he hadn't transformed into some monstrous version of himself so he felt pretty safe in saying that it wasn't an akuma. "Not an akuma, at least not anymore. You're still special though." Adrien said as he brought the butterfly closer to his face. "Why did you come back?

An image, clear and sharp, flashed in his mind. A dark room inside some tall building with a large circular window that overlooked the expanse of the city. Butterflies, hundreds of them, were scattered along the floor. Their white wings moved gently as they waited for something to happen. It was the man standing right in the middle of the room and butterflies that stood out in his mind. A cruel, harsh smile marred his face and his grey-blue were hard and cold. Adrien felt ice fill his veins as he looked at him. ' _Fly, my little akuma.'_  the man's voice whispered.

"Papillon," shuddered Adrien. Then another realization ripped through him. "That voice! I know that voice."

Adrien ran to his desk. The butterfly flew out of his hands and out of his way. It allowed him to rifle through the contents on his desk better. He found what he was looking for, his cell phone that had been buried underneath his papers. Adrien's fingers slipped and fumbled with the buttons as he opened up his voice mail. "Adrien, my business trip is taking longer than I anticipated. I will unfortunately be unable to attend your fencing match on Thursday." his father's curt and clipped tone filled Adrien's bedroom as he played it as loud as the phone could go.

Adrien played it again. And again. And again.

He sunk into the chair behind his desk. Good thing it was there too because Adrien's knees practically gave out on him. His hand was shaking as he held his phone. He could listen to the message a hundred times more and at double the volume but it wouldn't make a difference. It was difficult to tell. He could be in denial. He could want it to be true. One thing was certain though. Adrien swallowed the lump in his throat. "That… that voice, Papillon's voice, sounds a lot like my father's… but I can't be sure."

The butterfly landed on his knee lightly. It almost felt like it was staring right at him. "Is that why you came back? Because my dad might be the one doing this? What am I supposed to do about this? It's not like I can just go up to my dad and say, 'hey Father! Are you terrorizing Paris with a bunch of black, people-possessing butterflies? If you are, do you think you could stop please?' That would go over well!"

A giant knot twisted into his stomach. Now that the thought, the potential, was there he couldn't just ignore it. Adrien groaned, "I need evidence. I need leads. I need tangible proof to get anywhere. I've got to know but there's nothing that I can actually  _do_."

The butterfly flapped its wings. Chat Blanc, his dark alterego, flashed in his mind. Adrien blinked. "You are not suggesting what I think you're suggesting… are you?"

The butterfly took off from his knee and flew once more to his practice foil. Adrien got up as it landed on the blade. "Could you turn me into Chat Blanc again?"

Of course the butterfly didn't say anything. It was a butterfly after all. It did, although, crawl up and down the practice foil as if it were trying to emphasize something. Adrien made his way over to it and carefully picked the foil up. A warm light rose off of the foil. The rush of power he felt was familiar, and yet different to him.

The light disappeared. Adrien could feel his hair laying in a shaggy mess over his ears and the touch of a protective mask over his eyes. White clawed gloves ran into a white leather suit which ran into a pair of white combat boots with silver toes and heels. Adrien's vision was sharper. His hearing was sharper. His sense of smell was sharper. A white belt hung from his waist like a tail and golden bell was at his throat. Adrien looked up at his reflection across the room in his window. Slit pupils, white ears, and gleaming silver foil were all there in the reflection. "I guess the answer is yes. You can turn me into Chat Blanc."

As if in answer, the white butterfly emerged again from his foil. The rush of power and freedom ebbed away and Adrien was once more in his civilian clothes. "I need evidence." he mumbled as he looked at his practice foil. "I can be Chat Blanc and gather it myself."

The butterfly landed on his head. Adrien felt it walk through his hair, tickling him. "You can't possess my practice foil every time I need to transform." he said as he scooped the butterfly up in his hand. "I can't carry it around with me wherever I go. Hold on! I've got an idea!"

Adrien dropped the practice foil on his bed before racing to the closet. The poor butterfly was probably hanging on for dear life and regretting its decision to come back. He shoved his various clothes aside, kicked his shoes around, and dug one handed through the mess to find what he was looking for. It was an old jewelry box made out of cherry wood. His father had had it made custom for his mother. After she'd died, he hadn't been able to look at it so he'd given the jewelry box and all its contents to Adrien. Adrien had buried it too.

Now, though, he needed to unearth it. Adrien opened the lid and pulled out a pendant necklace that he hadn't looked at in a long time. It was an ornate and delicate wire wrapped silver star with a pearl in its center. "Can you possess this? It was my Mom's and wearing it would be a lot easier than toting around a practice foil all day."

The butterfly turned itself towards the necklace. It's little antenna twitched as if it were scrutinizing the pendant. The butterfly flitted from his hand. It landed right on the pearl in the center. For a moment, the butterfly's wings waved gently. Then the same warm light from before rose from his mother's necklace. When it was gone again, so was the butterfly. However, as Adrien ran his fingers over the pendant he got the unshakeable sensation that there was something living, something magical, just underneath his fingertips. The necklace was warm like he'd been wearing it close to his heart.

"You need a name buddy." whispered Adrien as he undid the chain and fastened the necklace around his neck. He held his palm over the pendant. The sharp edges pressed into his skin and left slight indentations. "How do you feel about Mari? Short for Mariposa. Y'know, Spanish for butterfly. It's a good name."

The pendant under his hand felt just a tiny bit warmer. "This is going to be the start of a good partnership. Whatever happens, we'll figure out who Papillon is… and stop him."

 


	2. Return of the White Cat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of Casting Shadows AU. No Ami Mizuno look alikes were hurt in the making of this fic. That and the puns killed me. I suck at puns and I'm not looking forward to writing a oneshot of nothing but puns for next week. Also, side note! Updates for Casting Shadows is going to be a bit more sporadic. Usually I write stories like this all the way through to completion but I'm really playing this by ear so it's an ever growing/ever changing story. I'm really excited about where it could all be going though. Thanks in advanced for all you readers who will stick around! If you want the latest updates and news on when I'll update visit my tumblr: .com! I post a lot of updates and even sneak peeks occasionally!

No one had said anything to him. Not one person seemed to think Adrien could've possibly been Chat Blanc. No one was treating him any different. Nino had slapped him on the back when he'd gotten out of the car just like he always did. Chloe had practically jumped on top of Adrien when she'd seen him and hung off his neck. Alya hadn't wasted any time in teasing him. Marinette was stammering and stuttering around him but that was pretty typical for her. At least she wasn't running scared after getting a terrifying close up look at Chat Blanc.

The lack of recognition alone was a huge relief to Adrien. Seriously! It was like someone had pulled a huge weight off his chest. The last thing he needed, or wanted for that matter, was for his new classmates to be scared around him. That and he also didn't want someone stringing two and two together and figuring out his identity _before_ he even commenced his special operation. Adrien fingered his necklace subtly. Mari's presence brushed against his touch warmly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, before you head to your lunch break remember that the upperclassmen are taking an important test upstairs. Please try not to be too loud as you head out." Mademoiselle Bustier said as she turned from the board to the class. There was a chorus of 'yes ma'ams' from the entire classroom. Mlle. Bustier smiled at them all kindly. "Class dismissed. We'll see you after your lunch break."

Nino whistled as he sat back in his chair and folded his hands behind his head. "I don't envy those upperclassmen. That test they're all taking is supposed to be super hard."

"You do know that we'll have to take that test next year right?" Adrien pointed out, raising his eyebrow.

"You're a real killjoy sometimes. Y'know that right dude?" Nino groaned and wiped his face, sterling silver ring dragging his lip down. Adrien laughed and shrugged.

"Well when the time comes, if you need tutoring I can help you out." he offered before bending down to collect his bag and books. "Any idea where you wanna go for lunch today? It's your turn to pick."

"How about… Ow!" Nino yelped in pain and jerked around. A pencil dropped to the ground with a dull thunk. Nino massaged the back of his head as he shot a dirty look at his lady love. "Alya! What was that for?"

"Huh?" Alya said innocently. There was something more mischievous in the way she was smiling. "Were you talking to me babe? I wasn't paying attention."

"Of course you weren't." Nino muttered under his breath.

"I was just asking Marinette about her latest project. Right _ma chèrie_?" Alya said. Adrien looked at Marinette. He could literally _see_ the blush shoot up her neck and throughout her face. She was as red as Ladybug's costume. "You brought it with you right? Can we see it?"

Marinette's eyes met his for a half second. Adrien thought he heard her squeak like a mouse before she dropped her gaze to her textbook on the desk. Alya cleared her throat and sent a pointed look at Nino. Nino started and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, "Uh… yeah Marinette. Let's see it."

"What is it?" Adrien threw out. Marinette's looked up at him through her eyelashes. He smiled supportively at her.

"Al… alright," she whispered.

Marinette bent down in her seat to a fabric shopping bag at her feet. Her hands were shaking as she pulled a neatly folded square of gold fabric from it. Wordlessly, Marinette held it out. Adrien was the closest to her so he took it.

His brain stopped working when he unfolded it. It was a handstitched banner. He could tell. He'd been around enough clothes to spot the workmanship. In the middle of the banner were two silver fencing foils crossed over one another at the blade. Underneath were the words 'en garde Adrien' in bright green lettering. Someone had spent a lot of time on it. The thing took up half the desk he and Nino shared. Someone had spent a lot of time making it for _him_.

Adrien looked up at Alya in confusion. She waved her hand in Marinette's direction. Poor, sweet Marinette had her head buried in her hands and appeared to have her forehead glued to her desk. Adrien hadn't realized that it was even possible for her to be any _more_ red than what she was. "Marinette… did you make this?" he asked. He couldn't help it. The incredulity was obvious. "Is this for me?"

Marinette made some sort of half moan, half wail sound softly as she dug her forehead deeper into her desk. Then she yelped in pain and sat bolt upright. Alya shifted sideways, crossed one foot behind her, and whistled innocently. Marinette stared at him with wide doe eyes.

"It's beautiful! Thank you so much!" A bright smile stretched across his face. Marinette looked like she was about to melt into a puddle on the floor. He raised the banner in the air again to take another look at it.

"Y… you just looked so upset, y'know. A… after your dad told you he wasn't going to make it to your fencing match thingy. I thought that I, uh, would make a banner to hold when I came." Marinette stammered. Her voice was so quiet that Adrien had almost missed it. However, her words sparked a memory from the back of his mind.

_Adrien clenched his fists as he paced up and down the short hallway. His fingers were wrapped tightly around his phone. The stupid, tiny piece of technology that had delivered the message from his father about not being able to attend his fencing exhibition. Some_ important _business had popped up. Adrien growled and raked a hand through his hair. It wasn't fair! What could be so much more important than his exhibition. Adrien hadn't even wanted to do fencing. His father had made him do it. Didn't that mean his father should try to make it to at least_ one _exhibition? Didn't it?_

" _A… Adrien?" called a timid voice. Adrien whipped around. Marinette was standing behind him, chewing on her lip like she was debating something in her mind. "A… are you… What's wrong?" she asked after a moment._

" _Just peachy," he muttered. He crossed his arms over his chest and slammed his back against the wall. The rational part of his brain told him that he was acting like a two year old but he couldn't bring himself to care. "Nothing is better than having your own dad blow you off. This fencing exhibition has been planned for_ three _weeks and now all of a sudden he can't come? I should've known. I should've guessed. I'm stupid for thinking this time would be any different."_

" _I… I don't think that at all." Marinette said. He looked at her from the corner of his eye. She offered him a small, shy smile. "I'm sure he wants to come."_

" _No he really doesn't." he grumbled._

" _Well, um… maybe I can come then? So that way you'll have someone cheering in the stands for you. When is it?"_

" _Saturday," he answered not bothering to make eye contact with her._

"Adrien?" Nino's voice brought him back to reality. There was kind of a funny look on Nino's face. "You, uh, you still with us dude?"

"Yeah!" Adrien said quickly. His hands fumbled a bit as he refolded Marinette's banner. He wasn't sure if it had been one of Mari's magical induced memory recollections or if it was just his own subconscious that had dragged the memory out of him. One thing was clear in Adrien's mind though. Marinette cared. Marinette had cared enough to ask him if he was alright. Adrien had been downright seething when she'd come across him but she'd still worked up the courage to ask him what was wrong. Marinette had cared enough to ask him when his exhibition was. She'd cared enough to offer to come and watch. Now she'd cared enough to make a banner just for him. _Maybe that's why I saved her. Because she cared._

Adrien handed the banner back to Marinette. "I look forward to seeing you in the stands. I won't be able to miss you with this awesome giant banner."

He didn't think it was possible but Marinette flushed and even darker shade of red. "Come on girl. Let's go get some lunch before we waste our entire break." Alya said as she pushed Marinette towards the stairs.

"We'll see you back in class Alya!" Nino waved at them as they disappeared through the door. He slapped Adrien on the back. "C'mon. Let's go get something to eat too and I'll make you listen to the playlist I put together for Alya's birthday."

"Again?" Adrien shot him a confused look. "Didn't I just listen to one a couple of weeks ago?"

"That was for our anniversary. This one's for her birthday." explained Nino as if it were obvious. Adrien rolled his eyes. It wasn't that he minded listening to Nino's playlists. Nino put together awesome playlists. It was just listening to the playlists that he made for his girlfriend that caused him some issues. There were only so many love songs Adrien could listen to before he felt the need to jump out the window and see just how far Mari's magical abilities transferred into his civilian life. It didn't matter if all the songs were different genres. Adrien smiled all the same.

"Cheating!" cried a girl's voice from down the hall. Adrien and Nino froze midstep. A short upperclassman with a bob of bright blue hair stumbled into the hallway followed by Madame Mendeleev. She _looked_ close to tears. "I'm a straight A student. How can you accuse me of cheating?"

"I'm sorry Amice but you know the rules. This is an important exam and if I see any suspicious activity I have take your test and give you a zero." Mme. Mendeleev explained motioning to the piece of paper in question.

"My mom texted me about my dad. He's sick. I was done with my test and I didn't think it mattered. Please! You can check my phone. I promise I wasn't cheating!" Amice said. Adrien could see the tears rolling down her face. The poor girl looked like she was about to get down on bended knee and plead for her grade. She had her phone out and was trying to hand it to Mme. Mendeleev.

"Rules are rules Ms. Fontaine. I can't change them for just one student." Mme. Mendeleev answered. Amice's hand fell limply to her side. Her lower lip was shaking as she stood staring at Mme. Mendeleev in shock. Then she shook her head, snatched her test out of Mme. Mendeleev's hand, turned, and fled down the hall.

"That's rough." Nino said as they watched Amice run into the bathroom.

"Just how important can this test be?" Adrien murmured. "It really isn't fair. Do you think Mme. Mendeleev will change her mind?"

"I have no idea man. Mendeleev is a real stickler sometimes." Nino gave a shrug. However there was a strange, guarded look on his face. He slapped Adrien on the shoulder and pushed them towards the doors. Nino did cast a wary glance back over his shoulder at the bathroom door. Thankfully, he wasn't looking at Adrien because it was at that exact moment that Mari saw fit to light up his pendant like a Christmas tree. Adrien wrapped his hand around the necklace to hide it. _Not a good time Mari,_ he thought as he shot a nervous glance at Nino.

The moment passed. The light died beneath his hand as Nino turned back around. "Any where in particular you wanted to eat today? I think it's your turn to pick."

"Hmm… something simple I think. I'm not really in the mood for anything big." Nino said.

"There's that new bistro that opened up on the next street over. They're supposed to have some pretty good sandwiches that aren't going to kill our budget." Adrien suggested as they stepped out into the afternoon sun.

Nino opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by a sudden shrill laugh. Both Adrien and Nino whipped around right in time to see the school doors blast open. Mme. Mendeleev came tumbling down the stairs, landing in a pile on the ground. "Mme. Mendeleev!" called Rose.

"Are you okay?" asked Juleka as they rushed to her side.

"Go! Run! Get away from here!" Mme. Mendeleev screamed, pushing the two girls away from her.

"Unfair and unbiased accusations! How can any student ever hope to get through your classes?" a familiar sounding girl's voice demanded. The same one that laughed just a half second before.

The girl descended the steps, clutching a thick blue book close to her chest. There was a paper sticking out from the top of it. Adrien could see that as the girl lowered the book to her side. On her chest was a thick, black, arial print letter 'A' with a tiny plus sign hanging beside it. Her bright blue hair stood out at wild angles as she glared down at Mme. Mendeleev. "I'll make sure that none of your students ever have to worry about being falsely accused by you!"

The girl raised the book she was holding into the air again. Mme. Mendeleev gave another short lived scream as she jumped to her feet and pulled Rose and Juleka with her. A thick, red letter 'F' hit the ground right where she'd been sitting. Adrien's eyes went wide. The crater in the sidewalk that was left was huge. "Ms. Fontaine! This is highly uncalled for!" snapped Mme. Mendeleev.

"My name isn't Amice Fontaine! It's Open Book!"

"Run!" yelled Mme. Mendeleev. It didn't look like Amice, or Open Book as she now preferred, was all that into talking it out at the moment. People scattered as more 'F's started flying through the air from Open Book's lexicon weapon.

Adrien felt his necklace begin warm up against his skin. A rock dropped into the bottom of his stomach like a heavy iron weight. Apparently it was show time for Chat Blanc. He just had to get away from Nino. Adrien racked his brain, desperate for _any_ sort of story he could come up with. It just had to be plausible enough to separate from Nino. He could suggest going for help. Or what about offering to help? _No! Better yet, tell him you're going inside to make sure people were alright._ That was an idea Adrien could get behind. "Nino I…" he started but Nino cut him off with a fluid line of cursing.

"Alya just sent me a text. She somewhere heading this way with her camera hoping to get pictures of Ladybug and Cat Noir for the Ladyblog. I'm gonna go see if I can intercept her before she does something stupid and gets hurt!" Nino said as he shoved his phone deep into the pocket of his bag.

"Huh?" Adrien replied with an infinite amount of smoothness that would've made Nino shake his head if he wasn't so preoccupied at the moment.

Nino latched on to Adrien's arms. "Stay here and wait for me. Okay?"

"Yeah, sure." he nodded numbly. So much for needing an excuse. Nino was practically giving him what he wanted on a silver platter. Adrien swallowed the lump in his throat though. There had to be something in the unwritten rules of friendship about just standing on the sidewalk while your buddy went off in search of his half insane girlfriend in the middle of an akuma attack though. Nino didn't seem particularly concerned about it. He licked his lips to moisten them. "Good luck… be careful."

"Don't worry. I'll be back soon!" Nino promised him with a cheery wave. Not too soon Adrien hoped.

Nino ran back into the school building. He probably was hoping to cut through the back athletics field to cut Alya off. Adrien wrapped his hand around his pendant before sprinting the way that Open Book had chased Mme. Mendeleev. "Now or never." Adrien said as he flew around the corner and into some bushes. "Let's go Mari!"

Warmth and light rose to meet him. Adrien closed his eyes and let the magic wash over him. His civilian clothes disappeared and the white leather of Chat Blanc replaced them. A slight weight settled on his hip. Chat Blanc opened his eyes and flexed his claws experimentally. "No overwhelming desire to steal jewelry from some teenagers. No voice in my head. That's reassuring." he mumbled to himself.

"Ladybug and Cat Noir, I was wondering when you were going to show up." Open Book said. Chat Blanc could hear the smirk in her voice.

"Leave that teacher alone!" called Ladybug's voice came from above. She and Cat Noir were standing on top of the school's roof glaring down at Open Book.

"I'm not finished with you yet." Open Book said to Mme. Mendeleev before turning her attention back to Ladybug and Cat Noir. The two heroes already had their respective weapons out and were watching her like a pair of hawks. "Why don't we just make this quick. You come down here and give me your Miraculous and I can get on with my day."

"Sorry," Cat Noir said, rolling his eyes.

Ladybug flipped her braid over her shoulder while spinning her yo-yo lazily. "Not going to happen."

"What a shame. I was so hoping your answer would be different." Open Book told them. She raised her lexicon into the air.

"Watch it!" yelled Cat Noir moments before the projectile came hurtling at them. Ladybug went one way and Cat Noir went the other. They hit the ground as pieces of the roof cascaded over head. Open Book tracked their movements, following them with her book. More attacks went flying and more holes were blasted into the ground and building around them. Cat Noir danced sideways and backwards as the attacks flew at him. Chat Blanc twisted his head as he watched. Must have been the guy's bad luck that made him target number one. "Oh give me a break!" he whined as he fell backwards to avoid one shot.

A well placed yo-yo throw twisted around Open Book's arm and Ladybug jerked hard on the line. Open Book yelped in pain. Her lexicon went flying out of her hand, landing on the sidewalk spine side up. "No!" she cried, reaching after it with her untrapped hand.

"Mari… I'm not entirely sure what you want me to do here." Chat Blanc said as he looked up over the top of the bush he was still hiding behind. "Ladybug and Cat Noir look like they have this pretty well in hand. There isn't really anything for me to…"

His words died off when he saw that the papers in Open Book's lexicon had fallen on to the sidewalk. Judging by the fact that it was thick packet of stapled papers with a big, fat zero on the front of it Chat Blanc was pretty certain it was Amice's exam. There was a weird purple mist rising from it. Okay, that wasn't normal. At all. By any means. He felt Mari's soft presence brush the back of his mind and the image of his broken practice foil jump to the forefront of his brain. "That's where the akuma is…" he whispered.

What felt like an affirmative wing flutter passed his mind. There was something else laced within the feeling. A sort of urgent, desperate need. His corrupted practice foil jumped into his mind as the weight on his hip warmed up. Chat Blanc looked down. The same foil hung at his waist. He had no clue how Mari had managed to get it there but there it was… and he felt the same desperate need intensify by twenty. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that you really want me to get that test."

Once more Mari fluttered affirmatively. Open Book pulled back as hard as she could on Ladybug's yo-yo. Ladybug cried out as she toppled forward and landed on her stomach with a hard 'oof.' Cat Noir hurried to her side to help her up and Open Book rushed for her lexicon. The dangerous protective look on her face as she stuffed the exam back into her lexicon. "Yep, get the paper. No problem. Easy as pie…" Chat Blanc mumbled under his breath. "Couldn't have picked something easier for me to get from her could you Mari. Are you sure you don't want me to steal her left shoe while I'm at it?"

He had a feeling that if Mari had a voice it would be yelling at him right now. Chat Blanc pulled the foil from his hip. He had to be smart about this. Wait for a good opening. That was probably the only way he was going to be successful.

"It's in that paper." Ladybug told Cat Noir nodding at Open Book. "The one that fell out of her lexicon."

"Right. I'll see what I can do about getting it away from her." he said. He flipped his staff around in front of him and charged at Open Book.

Open Book snarled. Bolts flew from her lexicon towards Cat Noir's immediate threat. This time he was ready. Right as one bolt raced past his head, he dove to the ground and slid. Chat Blanc's jaw dropped as he watched Cat Noir go right underneath Open Book's offense _and_ defense with perfect timing and coordination. His staff came up with a sharp strike. Open Book scrambled back. She only just barely managed to avoid being hit in the arms. Instead Cat Noir's staff hit the lexicon itself. "Get away from me!" she snapped.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug yelled. A flash of red light made Open Book turn. A bottle of what looked to be glue fell into her hand. Ladybug turned it over, looking at it's red and black spotted label as if it would somehow magically tell her what to do with it. "Um…" she said.

Apparently not much luck in figuring out how glue applied to the situation.

"I guess I'm going to keep distracting it while you figure something out?" Cat Noir shouted. Sarcasm dripped off his voice.

"Save it Kit Cat!" snapped Ladybug.

Cat Noir gave a groan before he rolled off his back to his feet. A purple butterfly mask flashed over Open Book's eyes and her gaze unfocused. Neither Cat Noir or Ladybug seemed to see the purple outline. Another jolt of memory hit Chat Blanc. "That would be Papillion talking to her." he whispered to himself, his grip tightening around his sword.

The outline faded right as Cat Noir started to lunge in again. It was clear he was trying to take advantage of Open Book's distractedness. The problem was that Open Book was definitely paying attention again. She turned, lexicon levelled at Cat Noir. His eye went wide and he tried to dive and slide like he had before. This time Open Book was ready. She jumped sideways. As Cat Noir slid harmlessly past her, she raised her lexicon. A blasting attack went off. Cat Noir cried out as he went flying through the air and hit the school.

"Cat Noir!" Ladybug cried. Open Book laughed, walking towards her fallen victim with hand outstretched. Chat Blanc could practically hear Papillion laughing in his own ears.

"This would be an opening." Chat Blanc murmured through grit teeth. He gave a yell and charged with foil raised.

Open Book gasped, turned, and raised her lexicon at him. Chat Blanc feinted to the left at the last possible moment. It put him right in between her and Cat Noir. "Another one of you?" she asked as her lexicon fell slightly. "He didn't tell me there were three of you."

"I'm a special case." shrugged Chat Blanc. "I guess you could say I'm a _class_ of my own."

Open Book just stared at him blankly. "Get it? You know, class? Because we're at a school… with, um, classrooms?" Chat Blanc explained.

"I get it." Open Book replied in complete and utter deadpan. The lexicon was back up and aimed at him. Really? That had been a good one.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?" Ladybug yelled. Both he and Open Book jumped. Ladybug had completely forgotten about the glue. Now she was just staring with a slack jaw at him and pointing randomly at the air between him and some abstract place that probably only existed in her mind.

"We cleansed your akuma!" Cat Noir said. Chat Blanc chanced a glance back at him. He looked just as confused as Ladybug but there was something else underneath. It was almost like fear. Okay, that was fair. Chat Blanc had come pretty close to stealing their Miraculous not even two days ago.

"What can I say? I'm just full of sur- _purr_ -ises." Chat Blanc told them all. He eyed Open Book up and down, analyzing her stance. Maybe between he and Cat Noir they could buy Ladybug some time. Or he could just get the test himself. Either way worked for him. "So, uh, we get the possessed object and destroy it right? That's how this cleansing thing works. Well, in that case you've got a few overdue fines on that book of yours!"

"What kind of lame joke is that?" sputtered Open Book. Cat Noir groaned behind him and he heard the distinct sound of Ladybug hitting her forehead.

"It wasn't lame." Chat Blanc pouted as he raised his foil.

"Get out of my way!" Open Book spat. She took a shot at him.

Chat Blanc lunged under it, closing the gap between the two of them. The attack went over his shoulder and struck the side of the school. Chunks of bricks hit the ground with a dull thud. It was a good thing that part of Ladybug's powers were to restore damage. Another attack flew towards him. Chat Blanc stepped back. His foil came up on instinct to parry the attack, forgetting entirely that he wasn't facing another fencer with a foil. He only had a split second to think about just how _bad_ of an idea that parry was. So much for 'the turn into his former akuma self and get the possessed item' thing. It had been fun for the three minutes he'd done it.

His hand stung. Ripples of pain shot up his arm as the attack flew off kilter and went sailing towards a tree to his side. Chat Blanc's eyes went wide under his mask. He looked down at his foil. He didn't remember being able to do that the last time. His arm felt about as gelatinous as when another fencer tried to strong arm him but he'd totally deflected that attack! A grin stretched across his face. "En garde." he smirked before diving forward.

Open Book cried out and dodged sideways.

"Cataclysm!" Cat Noir called out. There was a snap and a crack as something broke.

Open Book's cry turned into a startled shriek as she tumbled backwards. There was a thick tree branch tangled underneath her feet and Cat Noir still had his arm raised from throwing it. Chat Blanc pulled back sharply right about the same time Ladybug's yo-yo zipped through the air. It hit the lexicon and stuck fast. Chat Blanc saw the white glue sticking out from underneath one side of the yo-yo. Ladybug gave another hard tug. Open Book resisted, knuckles turning white around the lexicon. It was no use though. Open Book yelled in dismay as her weapon and possessed item went hurtling towards Ladybug. Huh, that was one way to use a random object. Kind of put a dent in his whole get the possessed test plan Chat Blanc had though.

"No!" Open Book screamed. Ladybug yanked the test from the lexicon and ripped it in two. A black butterfly rose from the torn papers and she threw the shreds on the ground.

Ladybug slipped her yo-yo off her hip and swung it over her head. "That's enough from you!" she said as she threw.

Chat Blanc knew what she was doing and what was going to happen next. Ladybug would cleanse the akuma. The victim would turn back to normal. The white butterfly would fly away to wherever those white butterflies went. Ladybug would fix the damage and then she and Cat Noir would amscray. It was pretty cool seeing it in Alya's vlog videos. No doubt it would be better in person. However, there was something more important to him at the moment. The torn exam laying on the ground beside Ladybug's feet. He really needed that exam.

Red light washed around the school and sidewalk. Potholes and missing chunks disappeared. The two pieces of the ripped reformed into one. Even better for him. "What… what happened?" Amice stammered, looking around in utter confusion.

"It's okay." Cat Noir said as he kneeled down beside her.

"C...Cat Noir?" Amice whispered. "Ladybug?"

"Hey there. Just take it easy." Ladybug told her as she came over and rested her hand on Amice's shoulders.

Chat Blanc shot them a quick look before creeping his way towards the exam. Ladybug and Cat Noir were a little busy at the moment to pay attention to him. All he had to do was grab the test and get out back to the front of the school. Hopefully Nino wasn't waiting for him.

"Chat Blanc!" Ladybug called out. He froze in place, one foot still raised in the air. Chat Blanc winced. There was no ignoring her tone. "What are you doing?"

"How are you still here?" Cat Noir asked. He raised his staff as if he were about to come after Chat Blanc. Okay, this complicated things a bit. He really didn't want to get into a fight with them at the moment.

"Just ignore me," he gave them a two finger salute, "I'm just gonna grab this and be on my way so… bye!"

He snatched the exam off the ground and turned on his heel.

"Hey!" Cat Noir yelled angrily.

"Get back here!" Ladybug demanded.

Their footsteps landed hard and fast as they chased after him. Chat Blanc looked over his shoulder. Ladybug and Cat Noir were right behind him literally. "Wow they are really fast." he muttered under his breath with a grimace.

In the back of his mind, Mari was fluttering desperately against his consciousness. _Don't get caught? Really? I hadn't figured that one out yet,_ he thought back sarcastically. The hair on the back of his neck prickled. Chat Blanc just barely managed to turn the corner before Ladybug's yo-yo caught him around the middle. It hit the side of the school instead. Cat Noir slid around the corner fast, using his staff as a brace to stay upright and keep momentum.

Not good! Cat Noir and Ladybug would catch him at the rate this was going. Again, Chat Blanc really didn't want to fight them. Someway, somehow, he had to lose them and quick! That's when an idea popped into his head. The school! He could lose them in the school. Cut through the gym, come out the back, lose the transformation, and double back as Adrien! It might just work!

He vaulted over the top the wall of the school's front stairs. A pair of beeps filled the air but he ignored them. Not really important at the moment. However, Ladybug and Cat Noir dropped back a pace when they heard them. Chat Blanc took the opportunity to turn a corner and out of their sight. Ladybug's cursing when she saw him disappear was still too close for comfort though.

His heart was racing just as fast as he was. He was thankful for the fact that he wasn't winded. It would've made outrunning Ladybug and Cat Noir harder than it already was. Chat Blanc had put some distance between the two of them but thanks to his advanced magical hearing, he could tell just how much ground they were regaining. Crap!

He had find some place to get rid of the transformation. He couldn't do that with Amice's exam still in his hand though. That would've been a dead giveaway.

Chat Blanc turned another corner. Standing on the side of the hallway was Marinette. She was frowning at something on her phone as she poked at the screen. Her school was loose in her free hand. Another idea sprang into his head and made him wince. It was the only thing he could think of at the moment. _I'm so sorry Marinette_ , Chat Blanc thought to himself as he altered course and charged straight for his classmate.


	3. Stray

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so last we left off Chat Blanc was apologizing to Marinette in his head. Why? Well you're about to find out in this chapter all from Marinette's point of view! Please expect another update for this story next week too!

"Alya!" Marinette muttered under her breath as she paced back and forth with her phone pressed against her ear. "Come on! Come on! _Pick up_!"

"You've reached my voicemail. I'm probably out chasing the latest bit on Ladybug. Leave a message!" Alya said brightly. Marinette grit her teeth and smashed the end call button before the tone to leave message sounded. What was the point? Alya wasn't going to check it.

"I'm going to kill her!" Marinette hissed as she looked away from her phone. She desperately tried to ignore the building anxiety in her chest and suppress the urge to scream. "Alya is so dead when I get my hands on her. Middle of an akuma fight and she disappears _again_. And she got mad at me for the Chat Blanc thing!"

_What is that old definition of insanity?_ Marinette redialed Alya's number for the fourth time since she'd disappeared to go stake out the latest akuma attack. It went straight to voicemail. Marinette clenched her phone so tightly that her knuckles turned white. That definition of insanity? Oh yeah, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting to get different results each time.

Marinette dropped her phone and listened. The fight had spilled outside the school but that had been nearly ten minutes ago. She didn't hear panicked screaming anymore. It didn't look as though the windows down the hall were about to shake out of their frames. If she had to take a wild guess, Marinette would say that the fight was over. If so... where was Alya?

Someone was yelling and running down the hall somewhere close to her. It was coming her way. Marinette tuned it out of her head. She had more important things to worry about. She looked down at her phone one more time. There was still no message from Alya, text or otherwise. She absolutely hated when Alya did this to her! It wasn't fair. Marinette went to the Ladyblog's website. There were no new photos or videos up. Just a blog post from nearly fifteen minutes ago announcing the akuma attack. Old news pretty much. Marinette scowled as she hit the home screen and went back to her recent calls.

_One more time. I'll try her one more time._ Not that she knew what she would do if she couldn't get ahold of Alya. Maybe she would...

"Coming through!"

"Huh?" Marinette looked up a half second too late.

Crash!

A cry pulled from Marinette's lips as she and whoever had rammed into her fell to the ground in a pile of limbs and flailing. Her school bag saved her elbow from the majority of the pain from falling but at the cost of sending all her papers and books fluttering through the air. Her hipbone and knees banged against the floor and sent a shooting pain firing through her nerves.

"My apologies Princess." said the silky voice of the person who'd hit her. It came out as practically a purr. She looked up and gasped.

"Chat... Chat Blanc?" Marinette whispered in complete and other shock.

"We've got to stop meeting like this." he winked at her as he pushed himself up off of her. "Oops, your stuff! Here let me help you with that."

Chat Blanc scurried off of her and scrambled to scoop up her papers. Marinette sat up, staring at him with wide eyes, and numbly collected papers around her. If Alya even said _anything_ about Chat Blanc this time Marinette was going to smack her. It wasn't her fault this time.

"Chat Blanc!" Ladybug's angry voice bounced down the hallway. Both she and Chat Blanc jumped. Chat Blanc froze. His hand hovered over the top of one of her books. He looked up and past Marinette's shoulder. Marinette's eyes landed straight on the fencing foil on his hip like they'd been drawn there magnetically. Something akin to pure dread curled through her.

_Chat Blanc's foil sang through the air, locking up against Cat Noir's staff. The sneer on his face was downright feral. Ruthlessly, he shoved Cat Noir away and sent him careening to the ground. Cat Noir just barely caught himself before Chat Blanc lunged forward. The foil hit the ground rather than Cat Noir's skin as he rolled out of the way. Chat Blanc's lips twisted into a livid snarl. He raised his foil again…_

Marinette's throat swelled shut and her eyes went wide. Sure he'd saved her from being crushed from the stair railing but Chat Blanc was an akuma. An akuma that was currently being chased by Ladybug and Cat Noir currently. Marinette doubted that he was all too keen on being caught… again. Just how far would he go, she wondered, to protect himself? She balled her hand into a fist, prepared to put Chat Blanc on his back. _Hit and run_ , she chanted to herself, _he moves to hold you hostage, you hit him and_ run!

Chat Blanc gave a look over his shoulder and grimaced. He turned to look at her again. "Terribly sorry for running into you Princess. Please forgive me."

Marinette braced herself. She tightened her fist. Her nails dug into the skin of her palm. Here it came!

He snatched her hand off the ground and pulled it to him. Marinette's fist came up and then stopped. Chat Blanc pressed her knuckles to his lips and kissed them. Her eyes just about bugged out of her head. Wait! Hold on a minute! What?

He flipped her hand over and stuffed her papers into her open palm. " _Cat_ ch ya later!"

Chat Blanc jumped to his feet and sprinted down the hall. Marinette flipped her hand over and stared at the place where he'd kissed her. "Marinette!" someone called her name but she was still trying to get her brain to reboot.

Red fingerless gloves grabbed her shoulder. Marinette found herself looking right at Ladybug. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?" she demanded.

Marinette found her tongue and somehow got it to work. "I'm… I'm fine."

Ladybug and Cat Noir visibly relaxed. Cat Noir stepped forward next to Ladybug and the pair helped her to her feet. "Did you see which way he went?" Cat Noir asked.

She raised her hand and pointed in the direction that Chat Blanc had rushed off in. A beep cut through the air. Ladybug let an irritated shriek cut through her clenched teeth. "We're out of time!" she told Cat Noir.

Cat Noir glanced at his ring. His shoulders fell forward. "You're right. We gotta go."

"Wait!" Marinette called after them before they had a chance to leave. "My friend, Alya… she runs the Ladyblog. I haven't seen her since this entire thing started. Have you… have you seen her?"

Ladybug whipped around. There was a big smile on her face. "Alya? Oh yeah! Of course. She's fine. Saw her outside. She's probably just running a little behind on getting inside. Don't be too angry with her when she gets back." Ladybug waved her hand dismissively.

Behind her Cat Noir smacked himself in the forehead. Marinette rolled her eyes. She made no promises. Even still she let out a pent up breath that she hadn't realized she was holding. At least Alya was safe… somewhere.

"Ladybug, our identities." Cat Noir insisted. He latched on to Ladybug's hand, pulled her in front of him, and started pushing her back down the hall.

They disappeared from sight. Marinette shook her head and shoved her papers into her bag. Her phone was still laying on the ground. As she bent to pick it up, it was clear that Alya still hadn't messaged her. However, just as she was about to try calling Alya again Marinette's phone lit up. Marinette punched the button to accept the call. "You are in so much trouble!" Marinette told Alya before she even had a chance to plead her case.

X X X

"Thank you Papa!" Marinette called sweetly as she took the plate of cookies. He was barely back through the trap door and she just turned around before she popped one into her mouth. She smiled. They were still warm. Too bad Alya had a so called "study date" with Nino tonight. She always loved cookies. Marinette barely ever got more than one whenever she came over. Alya had such a raging sweet tooth on her that Marinette had once caught her putting cookies in her bookbag to eat later. All the color had drained out of her face the first time Marinette had seen her do it. She'd been so embarrassed and Marinette had felt bad for laughing at her. She'd made it up to Alya by bringing an entire box of cookies the next day at school.

Marinette sat her plate down on her desk before walking to her bookbag on the chaise lounge. She had to fight to keep the scowl off her face as she pulled out the contents of her bag. Chat Blanc had done a number on her organizational system. Okay, so it wasn't like she was super duper organized but still! She'd known exactly what stack of papers her math homework had been in when she'd left class that afternoon. Then along came Chat Blanc. Marinette sighed. She knew she really shouldn't have been complaining. At least he'd helped pick up the things he'd knocked out of her bag despite the fact that Ladybug and Cat Noir had been chasing him. It could've been a lot worse. He could've used her as a human shield instead. She tried very hard not to think about Chat Blanc and his sudden reappearance as she sifted through several handouts. "Classwork, classwork, notes, last week's homework, more classwork... Alya's classwork? Good job Alya. And she calls me scatterbrained!"

She rolled her eyes and set Alya's random work off to the side so she'd remember to give it back. Marinette grabbed another stack of papers to sift through. Nimbly, she flipped past paper after paper of things that wasn't her math homework. Her fingers froze at the top of a stapled stack of papers though. All her work was signed with her name using little hearts to dot the "I"s and thick lines through the "T"s at the top of the paper. The stapled stack of papers was signed with only a simple dot on the "I" and downward slash through the "T." Marinette furrowed her eyebrows. "Amice Fontaine? Why do I have an upperclassman's paper?"

She pulled it from the stack of papers in her hand, noticing that the homework she was looking for was right underneath. However, now she was too focused on Amice Fontaine's paper. Marinette flipped it over curiously. It was definitely a test... probably the test that Mademoiselle Bustier had told her class about. The one that was supposedly really important. Marinette flipped through the pages. There was no grade on it but it was finished. Whether or not the answers were correct were beyond Marinette but all the same. This was someone's ungraded test! "How did it get into my bag?"

Then another thought occurred to her. "Oh no! What if I get in trouble? What if Madame Mendeleev thinks I stole this? I'll get kicked out of school! Mama and Papa will have to homeschool me. They'll be so disappointed in me. I'll never get to see Adrien again because I'll be grounded for life and homeschooled!" gasped Marinette as she stared at the test in her hand with utter horror.

No! No! No! This couldn't be happening. Sure she might have accidentally on purpose taken someone's phone before but she'd always made sure to get it back to them before the owners missed them. How was she supposed to give Amice Fontaine back her test? She didn't even know her! Maybe she could sneak into Mme. Mendeleev's room and put it on her desk. No, that wouldn't work. Mme. Mendeleev would wonder how the test had gotten there. It would be too suspicious to just have an important and ungraded exam to just pop up on the teacher's desk the day after the exam! Marinette couldn't just _not_ give it back though! Especially if it was as important as Mlle. Bustier had told the class it was. Maybe she could…

Thump, thump!

Marinette shrieked and clutched the test to her chest. She spun around to face the noise. Her eyes went wide. Sitting in on her window sill like some kind of phantom in the night was Chat Blanc. His hand was still closed in a fist and hovering above the glass. Marinette stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over her own two feet in a moment of beautiful uncoordinated loss of balance. She reached for something, _anything_ , to defend herself with. Her hands closed around her favorite fabric scissor right as Chat Blanc slid her window up and open. "It's alright! It's alright! I'm not going to hurt you!" he insisted emphatically, reaching one hand towards her.

"Don't come any closer!" she snapped. Marinette pointed the end of her scissors at him and he pulled his hand back so quick someone might have thought she'd burned him. She clutched the scissors tighter to try and hide the fact that her hands were shaking. It was probably too late already.

"Okay, okay." Chat Blanc said quietly. His entire posture changed. He rolled his shoulders forward and relaxed from the stiff crouch he'd been sitting on her ledge with. His face softened. His faux white cat ears drooped slightly. It was like he'd gone from potentially vicious alley cat to cute and cuddly kitten. "I won't come in. I promise." he assured her calmly.

Marinette felt her scissors start to slip downward. She hadn't expected _that_ to come out of an akuma's mouth. She hadn't expected him to sound so _sincere_. Truly sincere. Marinette swallowed back the lump that had formed in her throat. Chat Blanc's foot jerked sideways. Marinette snapped the scissors back up. He openly winced. "What do you want? Why are you here?" she demanded.

"That's...um, that's a really good question actually." Chat Blanc replied. He ran a hand through his hair and gave her a grin that she could only describe as sheepish. Wait! Was he embarrassed? That seemed like a gesture that was ripe with embarrassment. Okay, why was a super powerful, ultra dangerous akuma _embarrassed_.

"Then answer it." Marinette glared at him.

"Uh..."

"Well? I'm waiting?" Her knuckles were white around the scissors. "Or I can scream and make a lot of noise."

Chat Blanc went pale. "Please don't do that. I just came to pick something up."

"Pick something up?" she repeated incredulously. Without really meaning to, she quirked an eyebrow. "And please tell me _what_ exactly you think is here for you to pick up?"

"The thing is I when I ran into you this afternoon I might have, you know, mixed up a few papers with yours." There was something off with the way he said it though. Marinette knew exactly why.

"You ran away empty handed. Nothing got mixed up." she told him shortly. Chat Blanc laughed nervously under his breath. Once more he was rubbing the back of his neck and wouldn't look her in the eye. "Why are you really here and don't lie this time."

"I wasn't lying!" he exclaimed. His voice carried, about an octave higher than his speaking voice. Marinette jumped. Chat Blanc threw his hand over his mouth, looking past her towards the back wall of Marinette's room. Searching for her door, she realized, and waiting to see if anyone would come bursting through it. He looked at her with wide imploring eyes as he dropped his hand from his mouth. "I wasn't lying," he repeated in a much, _much_ quieter voice. "You do have something of mine."

"I'm fairly certain that I don't." Marinette told him evenly.

He groaned and beat the heel of his palm against his forehead. His cheeks flushed bright red. "I...uh... Here's the thing." he stuttered. "I kinda, I kinda used you this afternoon."

"You _what_?" she snapped.

"I'm sorry!" His hands flailed in front of his body like he was trying to direct traffic. All his words tumbled out in one massive tidal wave rush. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to. I mean, I kinda had to. Ladybug and Cat Noir were right behind me and I couldn't let them catch me so I sorta used you as a distraction and then I slipped something into your stack of papers when I knocked into you on purpose. I'm sorry. I feel horrible about it. I really do!"

Marinette blinked. "You know you're supposed to breath in between sentences right kitty cat?"

His faux ears drooped even lower. How on Earth had she ever been scared of this guy? It was like he was completely different from the Chat Blanc that had fought with Ladybug and Cat Noir. He honestly looked like he would be better suited to chasing butterflies than chasing after Paris's grand heroes. Chat Blanc took a breath...finally. "I slipped something really important into your school bag when I was putting your things into it. You might have already noticed it. A test. It belonged to Open Book, well Amice Fontaine anyways."

The ungraded test seemed to glare up at her. It was crushed and wrinkled now since she'd been clutching it right along with the scissors. "You stuck this in my bag?" she demanded as she waved it in the air. Chat Blanc nodded, guilt clearly covering his face. "Do you have any idea how important this test is?"

"Probably a little bit more than you do." he mumbled. Marinette glared at him.

"Why did you even have it in the first place?"

"I, well you know, sorta stole it." he shrugged. Marinette gaped at him. Chat Blanc gave her a hopeful little smile and stretched his hand out to her. "So can I have it now?"

"No!" Marinette snapped. "Definitely not! How dare you. What were you trying to do by planting it on me? Were you just trying to cause problems for me or did you just think it would be fun to maybe get me in trouble?"

"No! No! That's not it at all! I just needed to hide the test so I could come back for it later." Chat Blanc drew back. His eyes were so wide that Marinette was sure that they were going to pop out of his skull. "That's test turned Amice Fontaine into Open Book. I grabbed it when Ladybug and Cat Noir were busy taking care of her after the fight."

"Why? Why was it so imperative that you snatch it from it's owner?"

"I don't know! I don't know okay! The thing that told me to take it didn't exactly explain why I needed to grab it. They just kinda pushed me towards it." Chat Blanc made some kind of sideways pushing motion with his hands as he said it.

"What thing? Your akuma?" Marinette crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot.

"Yes! I mean, no. Not… not exactly anyways."

"Is this some kind of plot to steal Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous because if you think for one second that I'm going to let some akuma…"

"I'm not an akuma!" Chat Blanc cried out, desperately.

Marinette ran her eyes up and down him. "Uh-huh, yeah sure."

"I mean I was but I'm not now."

She drew a sharp breath through her nose. "The stair railing that would've crushed me had you not pushed me away… that was fixed. Ladybug only does that after she cleanses an akuma."

"Exactly." Chat Blanc spread his arms open wide. "Not an akuma. I promise."

"Then why are you, _Chat Blanc_ , still here?"

"Long story," he said dismissively. "I don't care about stealing Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous. I have something more pressing to…"

His voice dropped off suddenly. Actually, Chat Blanc snapped his mouth shut. Marinette even heard his teeth and jaw clack together that's how quickly he stopped talking. She cocked an eyebrow. "What's more pressing to worry about?"

"I… I can't answer that?" he mumbled.

"And why's that?" Marinette asked.

"I just can't. Please, now can you let me have the test. I'm not going to cause any sort of horrific atrocity with it. I won't bother you again."

"Let me get this straight. You have no clue why you were asked to steal this test. You have no idea what it could be or what it could do. But it all has something to do with having something better to do than chase after Ladybug and Cat Noir."

"Yes, exactly. Now about that test? Can I _please_ have it?"

"I'm giving it back to Amice Fontaine tomorrow at school." she replied, deadpan.

"Oh! Come on!" whined Chat Blanc. He ran his hand through his hair. Marinette was pretty certain that he'd bang his head on her window frame with a little more prodding.

"Don't give me that!" she jabbed her finger at him. "You use me as a hiding place, putting _my_ reputation as a good student with integrity at risk. Then you come swanning over here, scare the living daylights out of me, ask me for an item that doesn't belong to you in the first place without giving me any good reason why."

"I just said…" he started desperately.

"You have a lot of nerve kitty cat." Marinette growled. Chat Blanc muttered something under his breath that she didn't catch. "What was that?"

He turned bright red, "Nothing!"

Marinette groaned and scrubbed her face with her hand. "Why'd you have to put me in the middle."

"I told you. Ladybug and Cat Noir were right behind me. I had to get away from them and if I'd been holding that test it would have been a dead giveaway to who I was. If I'm going to do what I want to do then it really works out better that Ladybug and Cat Noir _not_ know my identity. If you catch my drift."

She pursed her lip and nodded slowly. "You're sure that Ladybug purified your akuma?"

"Um… yes." he nodded.

"Riiight…" Marinette sighed. Chat Blanc looked at her in confusion. "Chat Blanc, I don't know how to tell you this so I'm just going to come right out and say it."

"Say what?"

"You know how when Ladybug purifies an akuma all the damage from the fight goes away and the person turns back to normal. I mean you've seen videos of it on the unofficial blog right? Typically, he or she comes back to their senses and is really confused about what happens."

"Oh," A look of horror spread across Chat Blanc's face. Apparently, realization was starting to sink in. Marinette wasn't exactly sure _how_ he hadn't thought of it yet.

"And Ladybug and Cat Noir are usually standing _right_ there." Marinette pointed to the ground to emphasize her point. Chat Blanc went pale and his hands looked like they were starting to go slack around her window frame. Marinette dropped her scissors and the test as she jumped forward. "Snap out of it!" she told him as she grabbed on to his wrists to keep him from falling out the window.

"Ladybug and Cat Noir already know who I am." he whispered. The look on his face was completely horrified.

"Most likely," nodded Marinette. "If they haven't already come looking for your alter ego for an explanation then they'll be coming soon."

"I'd better get working on that then." he mumbled half-heartedly.

"I can't believe you didn't think about that earlier. I mean, it seems kind of important if you ask me."

"Uh-huh," was his response. That's when Marinette realized the million miles away look in his eyes. He was standing rigid in front of her window and all the color seemed to have drained out of his face.

"Chat? Chat Blanc?" Marinette called to him. She shook his shoulder but it was no use. It was like he was no longer in the same room as her. She might as well have been shaking her desk chair. Whatever he was thinking about had completely wrapped him up and Marinette was certain that there was no way that he was going to tell her about it.

His hand rose to clutch the golden bell hanging at his neck. Wait. No. Marinette couldn't see what it was exactly but there was something _under_ his bell. "I have to go." he said abruptly as he turned on his heel back towards the window.

"Wait! Hold on a minute." she grabbed hold of his tail slash belt thingy and jerked him back inside. Chat Blanc gave a little cry as he fell back into her room. "You're leaving? Just like that? After all that convincing you tried to do to get me to give you that test, you're just going to leave."

Chat Blanc pulled his tail out of her hand and stroked it like she'd actually hurt him, full on pout on his lips. "I just remembered something else. I can't take that test with me to where I'm going. It's too risky."

"So you're what... just going to leave it here with me?"

"It will be safer with here with you than it would be with me." explained Chat Blanc.

"Oh no, nononononono!" Marinette waved her hands in front of her body. "I'm giving it back to Amice Fontaine tomorrow at school."

"No you won't," he told her firmly. He sounded so sure of his answer. Marinette narrowed her eyes at him.

"I beg your pardon."

"You won't give Amice Fontaine back her test because, as we've already concluded, we have no idea what this test could do if it fell into the wrong hands or why it's important. We can't take that risk."

Marinette started to protest. She even raised her finger menacingly. Her mouth was open and the words were halfway formed...until she realized that Chat Blanc had an excellent point. She grit her teeth, "Screw you, you're right."

"Of course I am. I can't believe that you didn't see it my way sooner. I thought I was being _paw_ sitively clear about it all." he said.

"Did you just make a pun?" Marinette stared at him.

The thing that was under his bell flared, lighting the bell up. Chat Blanc glanced down and wrapped his hand around it once more. "I've really got to go now."

This time when he turned he made sure that his tail was out of her grasp. He pulled himself up on to her window frame, spun to face her, and gave a gentlemanly bow. A grade A showoff. That's exactly what Chat Blanc was. "I'll come back in a couple of days when I know more. Until then, I will _cat_ ch you later Princess."

"Wait! Hold on a minute!" Marinette's eyes went wide as she realized the full meaning of his words. Chat Blanc was already leaping out her window though. She charged after him. Her hands clenched the window frame. He was nowhere in sight. "I never said I'd keep it for you! Get back here you mangy alley cat!" she shouted after him at the top of her lungs.

A few lights came on in the buildings beside hers. There was a firm knock on her trapdoor. "Sweetheart? Are you alright? I heard you yelling." called her father as the door swung open.

Marinette jumped and twisted to look at him. He was staring at her concerned. She offered him a weak smile and a thin laugh. "Yes Papa. I'm fine...there was a, uh, a stray cat in my window sill. The dumb thing took off with some yarn I was going to be using for a project." she lied, folding her hands behind her back.

Her father raised an eyebrow at her. However, after a moment, he simply shrugged. "Make sure don't start feeding it. Otherwise you'll have the entire stray population of the neighborhood at your window sweetheart." he told her.

"Right! Of course Papa. I won't!" she promised. No it was just them leaving random formerly possessed items in her bedroom that was the problem. Her father gave her a smile and a nod before disappearing back down the trapdoor again. Marinette waited until she was sure he was gone, then she bent to pick the test off the ground. A heavy weight settled in her chest. It looked innocent enough, like it couldn't hurt a fly. Looks were deceiving though and incredibly so. _I know that from personal experience,_ she thought as she pulled an empty folder off of her desk.

Uneasiness twisted around her middle. Two very distinct images were seared into her mind. The dark, deadly look on Chat Blanc's face as she'd watched his gleaming foil pierce the air by Ladybug...and the soft, sheepish, and _honest_ look in Chat Blanc's eyes as he apologized to her for using her. Two completely different facets of the same boy. There was a lot more that met the eye with Chat Blanc.

Marinette slipped Amice Fontaine's test into the empty folder. "Just what did I get myself into?" she murmured to herself as she closed the folder, sticking it in the bottom of a desk drawer.


	4. Blank Space

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp! Here's the chapter from H-E-double hockey sticks! We have some shameless DJWifi (or I guess LadyNoir in this AU) flirting. And drama… I got the drama in there pretty well! Please enjoy! ALSO! This part was nearly called "Blanc Space." Don't judge me…

"How could this have possibly happened?" Alya demanded. She let out a screech of pent up rage and frustration as she pulled at her hair from the roots. Nino sat across from her on his bed massaging his temples. His glasses lay discarded behind him and his eyes were pressed shut. "Really! How could this have possibly happened? We cleansed his akuma! Adrien should've been fine! So why is Chat Blanc still here! Can someone please tell me what is going on?"

"Alya, calm down." Tikki said soothingly as she flitted beside her. The poor thing was having trouble keeping up with Alya as she stormed around the room. The plate of cookies that had been brought up for her were untouched. "I know this is really distressing..."

"Distressing? Distressing! Losing my classwork is distressing. Not being able to find my history textbook is distressing. This! This is downright infuriating!" Alya continued.

"I think she's going to put a hole in your rug." Plagg pointed out from Nino's desk. His little voice was oh-so gleeful as he watched Alya pace. He was probably desperately hoping that he'd see fire or smoke or something coming from underneath her feet if he watched long enough. Unlike Tikki's plate of cookies, Plagg's cheese platter was almost completely empty now.

"Not helping Plagg." sighed Nino as he leaned back in his chair.

"Did he say anything else to you after you detransformed?" asked Alya. Nino jumped in surprise. He had no idea how Alya had gotten over to him so quickly but she had and was now gripping the chair arms with all the strength of a vice.

"I told you no!" Nino snapped. "We've been over this a thousand times Alya! I wasn't even expecting to find Adrien after Chat Blanc showed up to the fight with Open Book. I thought... Well y'know..."

"That he'd disappear to a deep, dark, evil lair to get scratches behind the ear from Papillion." Plagg offered helpfully.

Alya and Nino groaned in tandem. Alya let go of the arm rests and sunk to the ground. She twisted her back to Nino before burying her head in her propped up knees. Slowly, Nino laid his hands on her shoulders. "How did this happen," mumbled Alya as Nino ran his thumbs in circles across the tight muscles in her shoulders.

"I… I don't know. He was just standing there, on the sidewalk right where I'd left him. It was like he hadn't even moved. He asked me if I'd been able to find you and if you were alright. I was so in shock that I couldn't even ask him anything else. My mind… it just went completely blank."

She sighed "I know, I know. I'm sorry."

"There, there." Tikki said. She landed on Alya's head and stroked her hair kindly. "It's going to be okay."

"We'llsh gesh tu the bottomsh of thish." Plagg added reassuringly through a mouthful of cheese.

"There has to be a reasonable explanation for this all." Tikki told them both.

"Has this ever happened in the past?" Nino asked.

"Nope," Plagg answered, popping the 'p' sound. He wiped his chin with his tiny paw and grabbed Nino's glasses from the desk. Nino accepted them wordlessly as Plagg handed them to him before coming to hover in front of their faces. "To my knowledge this is a unique occurrence."

"Lucky us!" Alya said, waving her finger through the air in a whoop-de-doo motion. "And it just had to happen to one of our best friends. How can your best friend be so unlucky?"

"As interesting as it is to contemplate the fact that our dear friend Chat Blanc is back, there's something else that Tikki and I need to talk to you about." Plagg said gravely. It was so completely _not_ like him to sound so serious. Alya and Nino were immediately at attention.

"Oh Plagg, do we have to tell them right this instant? Can't we let them have a little bit of time to process what might be happening with Adrien?" Tikki's voice bordered on begging. She left Alya's head to float beside Plagg.

"Tell us what?" Nino asked, voice guarded. Alya looked up and gave the pair of Kwamis a careful look.

"What more could there possibly be?"

"It has to do with Adrien slash Chat Blanc though." Plagg told Tikki. It almost sounded like they'd already had this argument before. Then again, for all Nino and Alya knew they had. Alya twisted around to meet Nino's equally confused glance. Sometimes it was nice to know that they weren't alone in the whole cryptic centuries old beings department. Tikki gave a sigh but nodded all the same.

"You said that Chat Blanc took off with Open Book's exam right?" Tikki asked.

"For the hundredth time, yes." both Alya and Nino said together. Alya continued on, "He just kinda snatched it out from under our nose when we were with Amice. I was more concerned about making sure she was okay."

"I sorta forgot about Chat Blanc for a minute." Nino admitted.

Tikki winced. Plagg merely nodded solemnly, "This isn't good."

"Because Adrien's back to being Chat Blanc sporadically? We've kinda been saying that for the last few hours dude." Nino told him, raising an eyebrow.

"No, not just that…" Tikki said.

"There's more?" Alya sputtered incredulously.

"Ehh…" said Plagg right about the same time Tikki said, "Umm…"

"For both Alya's and my own sanity's sake, will one of you _please_ just spit it out already?" begged Nino.

"You guys have to get back the test Chat Blanc stole." Plagg told them. His voice was still distinctly grim. Tikki, who was usually so animated and chipper, was just as somber. Never a good sign.

"Why? What's so important about it?" Alya pressed.

"There's residual magic in items that were formerly possessed. Nothing major. Not really that big of a deal." explained Plagg. "Not a lot but it's still magic."

Tikki picked up where he left off, "Typically the residual magic is harmless enough after the akuma is cleansed and it can go back to its original owner. That magic usually dissipates within a few hours anyways and it's like it was never there to begin with."

"You said typically." Nino pointed out, raising an eyebrow. He and Alya exchanged a quick, nervous look.

"Meaning something's different this time." Alya said.

Tikki and Plagg nodded in sync with one another. Alya bit her lip and once more looked at Nino. This time Nino was too busy rubbing his eyes to meet her look. "Again, dude, enough with the cryptic blather. Just tell us why we need to get that test back."

"Residual magic can be extracted and stored for another use." Tikki explained.

"By now though, all that residual magic should be gone. Amice Fontaine's test shouldn't be anything more than just a bunch of ordinary, stapled papers by now. It's been like… five hours guys." Nino pointed out, leaning forward in his chair. He stared intently at the two kwamis.

Plagg shrugged, "Again… under normal circumstances you would be totally correct. This isn't a normal circumstance. The moment Chat Blanc touched that test something about its magical signature changed. I doubt _he_ even noticed it."

"In what way?" asked Nino. He hadn't realized that he'd clenched his hand into a fist until after Alya reached up and wrapped her hand around his. Nino let out a heavy sigh.

"I can't be _completely_ sure but I felt a seal settle over something nearby. Seeing as how there were only three magical things in the immediate area to cast seals on and two of them are obviously unaffected then I'd have to make the inference that it was the exam." Tikki explained.

"A seal? Like putting a plug in a kitchen sink to keep water from draining." Alya said.

"Crude but yeah. Same basic principle. No magic out until someone breaks the seal." nodded Plagg.

Nino made the conclusion, "So we have to find this seal before Chat Blanc figures out how to break it and do whatever nefarious thing he has planned for that residual magic."

"How would Adr… Chat Blanc even know _how_ to extract the magic and store it. Especially considering that you don't think he even realized that he set a seal over the test."

"Chat Blanc doesn't necessarily need to be the one to lift the seal and extract the magic. Someone else could…" Plagg's voice trailed off.

"It would be very easy for someone who knows a fair deal about magic and was the one who originally cast the magic." Tikki mused, her tiny face was scrunched up in worry.

For a moment, neither Alya or Nino could speak. They stared at Tikki and Plagg with wide, horrified eyes. "Sent the akuma you mean…" whispered Alya.

Tikki and Plagg only nodded.

Neither Alya or Nino said anything. They just sat there, jaws hanging open and staring at Tikki and Plagg. Nino broke the silence first. "Crap!" Nino breathed, beating the heel of his palm against his forehead.

"Tikki, please tell me this is a really bad joke." begged Alya.

"Sorry, it's the honest to gods truth." Plagg sighed. "Think of it this way. If your pal Chat Blanc has already taken it to good ole Papillion then you might be getting a more interesting fight the next time you go up against Chat Blanc."

Alya groaned. There was nothing else she could think of to say.

"Or a more powerful akuma. Papillion can only stick so much power into one of his little butterflies at a time because of his own limitations but who's to say if he had a little extra that just happened to be laying around." continued Plagg.

"Stop talking!" Nino snapped. "Just _stop_ talking! Please. Just for a moment while I suppress my urge to scream."

"I think you're making it worse." Tikki whispered to Plagg.

Alya jumped to her feet. "Chat Blanc nearly got his hands on our Miraculous the first time we fought him. He was that strong! Can you imagine if he had a power upgrade? We'd be a toasted bug and kitty cat!"

"We have to get that test back." Nino said as he rose from his chair.

"Did you notice if Adrien was still holding the test when you saw him detransformed after the fight with Open Book?" asked Alya.

"No but he had his bag with him. Maybe it was in there."

"Either way, we have to check." Alya said. She reached across Nino's desk and grabbed the plate of cookies. "Tikki! Eat your cookies! We need to suit up."

"We're going over to Adrien's place?" Plagg asked. "Think I can raid that fancy kitchen. I bet there's some camembert that you're too stingy to buy Nino."

"You are _not_ raiding Adrien's kitchen. We're going over there to search for that test and figure out why the hell Chat Blanc is even still an issue. I'll 'Cataclysm' the stupid butterfly myself if I have to. He's my best buddy and I'm not going to let anything hurt him." Nino growled as he twisted his silver ring on his finger.

He looked over and saw the smirk on Alya's face. "You are incredibly _hot_ when you get all revved up and into hero mode." she told him.

Nino smirked back, "Shame you spread the rumor on the Ladyblog that Cat Noir plays for the other team."

"I don't regret it for a second Kit Cat Pattywhack. It protects your identity. We both know, however, that Nino plays both sides of the field and his current team captain is _me_. I consider myself pretty lucky."

"Ew! Gross! Will you please just transform. We don't have time to listen to the two of you flirt?" Plagg whined.

"Plagg, claws out!" called Nino.

Alya looked over at Tikki, who had just finished mowing her way through a cookie. "We're next Tik!"

"Ready!" she chirped.

"Tikki! Spots on!"

X X X

Adrien slipped into his bedroom and breathed a sigh of relief. "Coast is still clear. We made it." he murmured under his breath.

His hands were still shaking though as he flipped the light and threw his school bag on the bed. His shoulders and neck were aching from the way he'd been carrying himself, and the stress, all night long. Nathalie had gone home ages ago. Adrien had practically sneaked out the back door only minutes after Nathalie had gone out the front. The Gorilla was also gone too. His father had called him earlier that afternoon and had told him that he would be staying at his office late. However, Adrien hadn't been so certain that his father would still be out when he got back from his late night trip to Marinette's. Despite the fact that the house was still deserted, Adrien had still found him jumping at every creak of the stairs and freezing at every elongated shadow that loomed in the hallway.

Mari lit up his pendant. Not Christmas tree bright like it had been at school but with a soft dimness. Warmth touched his skin as a reassuring presence brushed across the back of his mind. Adrien grasped the pendant and let the warmth it emitted soak into his hand. The knots in his stomach loosened and the tightness between his shoulder blades dissipated. "We didn't get caught Mari. Our secret's still safe. Nobody even realized that I went out. I just have to make sure it stays that way."

The warmth cooled a bit and there was a quick flash as Mari separated from the pendant. "Any way you could tell me what exactly it is that is so important about that test? I thought of a few things that will be problematic while I was talking to Marinette. The last thing I want to do is put her in danger."

Mari landed on the top of his hand, antenna twitching in agitation. A memory of Papillon's voice demanding Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous played in his head. Mari followed it up with an image of the 'family portrait' that hung over the stairs with a really heavy emphasis on his father's face as Papillon's voice continued in his mind. There was a flash of him, as Chat Blanc, nearly filleting Ladybug and Cat Noir while laughing about it with unspoken question was attached to it.

"Exactly," Adrien nodded. "It looks like I'm living with the king of evil butterflies and once Papillon discovers that I'm kind of renegade there might be trouble."

This time Mari didn't show him an image. There was just another uncertain feeling in the back of his mind. It felt like a giant question mark hovering over the entire situation.

"I'm working on what I'm going to do but it definitely doesn't involve bringing home formerly possessed items for my dad to find. I definitely don't want to go back to what I was turned into." Adrien shuddered as he thought about the unbridled rage that had been going through him. This whole gather evidence and figure out whether his father was a dark mastermind or not had seemed so much easier the night before. In less than two hours he'd gone from completely confident to realizing that Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Papillon already knew who he was. _I am off to one hell of a fantastic start here._ "From here on out we have to be careful Mari. Really careful."

Mari's antennas twitched again with obvious irritation as an unspoken agreement filled the back of his brain as if to say, "Duh."

"First things first. I need you to figure out a way to tell me what's so important about Amice Fontaine's test… other than it being a formerly possessed item."

Mari's wings fluttered indignantly. A slew of confusing images cut through Adrien's mind. He shook his head to try and clear them.

"This would be so much easier if you could actually _talk_." he muttered under his breath. The response he got was a quick and clear agitation. The term 'shut up' was pretty clear even if there weren't words to express it. Adrien huffed, "Alright, sorry geeze! I know you usually have no problem expressing yourself but how am I supposed to understand what's going on through impressions and your memory inducement?"

Thunk!

Adrien jumped. His entire body jerked to face the balcony. He'd closed the blinds before he'd left for Marinette's house that evening so he couldn't see. It was clear, however, that something had just landed on the balcony outside. "What the…" he whispered under his breath.

Before he could get the rest of the thought out, Mari leaped off his hand and merged with his pendant in a hurry. Adrien blinked in surprise as the light died away from the pendant. _That_ was weird. The knock on his window came seconds later. Adrien jumped out of his seat and slowly made his way to the sliding glass door that lead out on to the balcony. He had a feeling he was about to see why Mari had disappeared all of a sudden.

He pulled on the string to lift the blinds. Standing on his balcony was Ladybug and Cat Noir…

_Great! They're here a lot earlier than I thought they'd be,_ he thought. Marinette had been right when she'd predicted that Ladybug and Cat Noir would come knocking on his door for an explanation sooner rather than later. Adrien swallowed back the sudden lump that had formed in his throat. Mari brushed against his mind in warning but he ignored it. It looked like the curtain was going up on his act a little earlier than he'd anticipated. _I really wish I had more time to practice this…_

"Ladybug! Cat Noir!" Adrien gasped as he threw open his door. He let his jaw drop and his eyes go wide. "What are you two doing here?"

"Adrien Agreste," Ladybug said as she put her hands on her hips, "we need to talk to you. Do you have a few minutes?"

Adrien had to fight really, really hard not to grimace. Her tone was _all_ business. Yeah, he didn't even need three guesses to figure out why that was exactly. Thank goodness his father had forced him to model all those years. It had taught him how to control his facial expressions. Who'd have thought it come in handy for this?

Adrien plastered on a happy, oblivious grin that took up his entire face. "Ladybug and Cat Noir? Here! At my house wanting to talk to me? Of course I've got time. I was just about to go get ready for bed, early photo shoot you know, but this is way too cool! Come on in!"

He stepped aside and threw his hand wide in welcome. Cat Noir followed Ladybug in, his eyes watching Adrien closely. _Anticipating an attack maybe,_ thought Adrien as he shut the door after them. The way Cat Noir gripped his staff was pretty telling. That wasn't even touching on the way Ladybug was resting her fingers on her yo-yo. _Definitely anticipating an attack… or at least_ something _like that to happen._

"There was an akuma attack at your school today," started Cat Noir. His fingers drummed against his staff lightly. Ladybug was looking around his bedroom. Her eyes seemed to linger on the pair of foils that hung over his bed in decoration. C'mon! If he were going to choose a weapon, it wasn't going to be those foils. They weren't even sharp!

Adrien covered up his irritation with a mild mannered grin. "Right. When my class broke for lunch. Open Book or something like that. My friend and I saw her come whipping out of the school like a maniac. Chased a teacher right down the stairs and down the sidewalk in front of us. It was pretty crazy."

Ladybug and Cat Noir exchange a quick look. Adrien could've sworn he saw some confusion pass through their eyes. Then again it might have been his imagination. Ladybug shot him a careful glance. "There were two of them actually. Open Book and Chat Blanc."

She let the words hang in the air. They were both watching him. Gauging his reaction. Now would _not_ be a good time to screw up.

"Whoa! No way!" he gasped, jaw dropping. Earnesty filled his voice. "I've heard a lot about that guy. He's supposed to be brutal! Are you two okay? He didn't hurt you right? I mean, I was told that he nearly impaled you guys a few times the last time you all fought."

Ladybug and Cat Noir drew back quickly. Okay! That was definitely shock on their faces. Shock and confusion. _Wow, I might actually get away with this._ It surprised even him. He shot fast looks at both the heroes. They'd seemingly recovered… and were back to looking cautious.

"We're fine Adrien." Cat Noir told him quickly.

"We had him on the run this time." Ladybug added.

Adrien bit back a sarcastic remark. Before they had him on the run, Chat Blanc had probably helped save their skins. Cat Noir had been moments away from losing his Miraculous right before Chat Blanc had stepped in. Funny how they'd forgotten about that. Mari gave him a warning feeling in the back of his head. It wasn't like he was about to point that out.

"Um… No offense but why exactly are you telling me this?" Adrien asked. Total lie of course. He knew exactly what the point of this expedition was. They were on a fishing trip.

"We're talking to people who were at the school when the attack happened. Chat Blanc got away and we're hoping that someone saw something." explained Ladybug.

"Maybe which way he went. Chat Blanc managed to get away with something important and we've got to find both him and what he stole." Cat Noir said.

Adrien shook his head, "I'm sorry. I only saw Open Book and even then I only stayed on the sidewalk. I was waiting for my friend to come back. Speaking of which… have you talked to Nino yet? He was the one I was waiting for. Or maybe his girlfriend, Alya? She runs the Ladyblog and was trying to get footage of the fight. Nino ran off to find her. Maybe they saw something?"

"They're on our list." Cat Noir said quickly. Ladybug only nodded dismissively. Yeah, they were only talking to him because he was Chat Blanc. All the more reason to make this work. Time to add the last piece of plan.

"I'm sorry. I can't really help. I didn't see anything. I didn't leave that spot. Besides, it was over so quickly wasn't it? I mean… Nino wasn't gone for more than a couple of minutes so it wasn't like there was a lot to witness." Adrien shrugged unaffectedly.

"Dude… the fight lasted like ten or fifteen minutes." Cat Noir pointed out. The look on his and Ladybug's face were identical. Pure confusion and shock. Adrien let himself laugh.

"I think you're a little confused because there's _no_ way I waited that long. Trust me… I think I would know."

Ladybug and Cat Noir exchanged a look. Adrien didn't miss the way they looked at him from the corner of their eyes. It wasn't any secret that akuma victims had zero memory of what happened to them. He'd make that piece of information to work for him!

The two heroes shifted uneasily. Cat Noir gave a slight, almost imperceptible, nod. Slowly, Ladybug gave him a weak smile. She reached out her hand and patted his shoulder. "Thank you for your help Adrien. You've… you've been a big help." she told him, thin relief evident in her voice.

They'd bought it! They believed that he had a huge gaping hole in his memory from the time he'd spent as Chat Blanc!

A sudden, sharp demanding impression shot through his skull. Mari pushed the memory of him stealing the test to forefront of his mind. Adrien nearly winced and clutched at his pendant. _Timing leaves something to be desired Mari_ , he shot back silently. He dropped his hand before Cat Noir or Ladybug thought too much about it. "Can I ask what he stole? And, uh, what's so important about it?" he inquired with a nonchalance that really should've won him an award.

"Nothing really all that big of a deal." Ladybug assured him simply.

Mari's disappointment surged through him. He kind of agreed, but it wasn't like getting Ladybug and Cat Noir to tell a former enemy an important piece of information was going to be that easy. It looked like Mari was going have to figure out a way to tell him what was so important about Amice Fontaine's test because it was evident that Ladybug and Cat Noir weren't going to do it for them. Adrien shrugged and nodded in response.

Cat Noir started to say something but then abruptly stopped. He twisted to look around Adrien at the door. "Someone just came in the front door." he whispered.

Adrien went cold. His father! It had to be. He stared at Ladybug and Cat Noir. There was no possible way to keep the color from draining out of his face. Ladybug and Cat Noir were standing in his bedroom. They had their Miraculous with them. His father, the possible master of rage-inducing possessing butterflies, had just gotten home and Ladybug and Cat Noir were just chilling in his room! If his father found them… "You can't be here." he breathed. "You have to leave now! My dad will be pissed if he sees you here."

That was understatement of the year.

Ladybug looked at Cat Noir, "We should get going. Lots of other people to touch base with tonight."

"Right," he answered. They both turned for the balcony door. Adrien had to physically restrain himself from shoving them out the door faster. "Thanks again for your help Adrien."

"Yeah, no problem. Have a good night." he said. At least he didn't have to pretend or stay in some sort of character.

Adrien barely got the door closed and the blinds drawn again before he heard his bedroom door open. "Adrien?" came his father's voice.

Adrien spun around, fixing a forced smile on to his face. "You're home! I thought you'd be out later than this." he said brightly.

Gabriel Agreste raised his eyebrow questioningly, "Don't you have an early photo shoot tomorrow? Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"I was… uh… I just finished my homework and I'm getting ready for bed now." Adrien told him.

His father looked at him with careful regard for a moment and then nodded. "Very well then. Good night Adrien."

"Good night Dad."

Without saying another word, his father left the room. There was a click as the door shut after him. A moment later, Mari emerged from his pendant. Adrien's scalp tickled as Mari perched on his head. He swallowed back a lump in his throat. "That was too close. There's no way of knowing what he would have done to them if he'd found them here." he whispered. "We have to figure out for sure my father is Papillon…"

Suddenly all Adrien could really think about was just how close he'd come to stealing Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous as Chat Blanc. How close Open Book had come as well. All it took was one slip up on their part. One slip up and Papillon would have the Miraculous for whatever dark purpose he wanted them for.

"And we have to keep Ladybug and Cat Noir from falling into his hands in the meantime."

Mari's wings bobbed in agreement. Adrien wrapped his arms around his chest. He hoped that Mari could figure out a way to tell him why it had been so imperative to steal Amice Fontaine's test soon. He had a feeling that was going to be very important in the very near future.


	5. Cat Burglar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Would ya look at this! A new update in "Casting Shadows!" Thank you everyone for being patient with me!

"Mari, for the record, I think this is the stupidest thing you've had me do yet!" Adrien hissed. He peered around the corner at the random brick apartment building he'd followed Mari to. He'd looked ridiculous doing it too! There was going to be half a million paparazzi photos of him decorating the tabloids in the next couple of days. Adrien could just  _see_  the headlines: 'Paris model, golden son of fashion mogul chases butterfly like an idiot! Shareholders question company's future and heir's sanity.'

Mari was clearly unaffected. Mari batted their wings lazily as they lounged on Adrien's finger. "Seriously! This is not exactly what I had planned to do with my Saturday afternoon after my fencing exhibition." he muttered.

The rest of the week after his glorious return to the Chat Blanc mantle, turning Marinette into his accidental coconspirator, and being interrogated by Ladybug and Cat Noir had been rather uneventful. There'd been a shortage of akumas and therefore no new formerly possessed items to steal. It had meant nothing to Adrien's overly heightened awareness.

He'd watched Marinette with baited breath to see what she would do with Open Book's test. Thank God he hadn't needed to use his half-formed plan that involved stealing it again. Marinette had decided to keep the test. All that was left was for Adrien to play the role he'd cast himself in.

Whenever anyone suggested to him that Open Book's attack had lasted more than a handful of minutes, he gave them the appropriate blank looks. His classmates had tried to insist for a little bit but after hearing Adrien laugh it off like it wasn't a big deal a few times they left it alone. Alya and Nino were the only two who didn't press him about it. Marinette had also been tight lipped about the entire situation for obvious reasons. Not that she  _would_  say anything. She back talked and sassed Chat Blanc with zero problems but could getting a full sentence out to Adrien was a task and a half. Go figure right. She was  _never_ that vocal with Adrien. He'd nearly blown cover when he mumbled that particular thought. Thankfully Marinette hadn't really heard it.

At home had been much worse. Nathalie and the Gorilla were completely oblivious of course. His father, though,  _should_  have been a different story. Adrien definitely expected more than the curious look that his father had shot him the next morning over a rare breakfast together. Nothing. No comment. No overly attentive staring or hovering. Part of Adrien had legitimately thought that his father would cancel his trip and stay home. I mean that's what Adrien would've done if he was a Supervillian that had turned his son into a pawn, purified, and then become the same pawn again without any help whatsoever. If his father happened to be Papillon then why hadn't he had more of reaction  _that_  particular development. Then again… if he  _wasn't_ Papillon then there was absolutely no reason that he'd even know! Which brought Adrien back to the reason he was now standing across the street from an apartment building rather than eating greasy hamburgers with his friends after his fencing exhibition like a normal teenaged kid.

Adrien had been more than surprised when he'd gotten up that morning and Mari had seemed to have a plan to explain to him what was so important about the test he'd stolen. Mari flashed an image of an antique leather bound book through his mind along with a strong insistence. Adrien glared at Mari. "This had better pay off Mari."

The solitary portrait of his father overlaid with Papillon's voice floated through his head. Mari's form of reminding him why he was even going through the entire Chat Blanc thing for. Adrien squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath to keep himself from shivering. "I get it Mari." he mumbled.

Marinette, exasperated and irrate, popped into his brain as Mari pulled up the memory of him talking to her earlier that week as Chat Blanc. It was followed by a quick image of Open Book's test and Papillon's voice. This time a shiver did go down his spine. He'd put Marinette at risk. As long as she had that test she was in danger. He was honor bound to protect her. That wasn't even taking into account that he had to make sure that Papillon didn't get his hand on Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous. "Alright, alright. I said I get it!" he growled. "Let's check it out."

Mari lifted off his hand and merged with his pendant with the usual flash of light. Adrien took one final glance around before making his way towards the apartment building carefully. When Mari had let him know he needed to look for a book, he initially thought that he'd be going to the library. Then he'd realized how dumb that sounded. Like he was really going to find a book about Superheroes and villains with magical powers at the library. Probably not so much. Once he'd come to that conclusion he'd generated a pretty impressive list of places that Mari might take him to in search of this mysterious book. Creepy occult bookshop in a seedy part of Paris, sure. Underground psychic club, possibly. A back alley switch off with a shady character that he'd met online… Adrien would submit to torture before he admitted that he'd practiced rock climbing and worn his best shoes for the express purpose of outrunning the police.

An ordinary apartment building in a reserved little metro area of Paris? Yeah not so much.

"Mari, how am I supposed to know which one of these people has this book we're looking for? And another thing! How exactly am I'm going to explain this for that matter?" Adrien asked as he looked over the ten to twelve names that were on the call button panel. It was a really good thing that no one was watching. It would've been more ammo for the whole 'Adrien Agreste has gone crazy' line.

Mari met his inquiry with distinct aggravation. An image of the call button panel with an unasked question hanging over it. Adrien took that to mean 'give it a closer look please' and bent down to read the names. He passed his finger over each one as he read aloud, "Let's see… I've got Barnier, Theroux, Chapelle, Moody, Fu, Pel…"

Adrien stopped midword as Mari let loose a mental feeling that might as have been a screech. Stop was a pretty universal term he guessed. The image of Monsieur Fu's name plate and button flickered in his head like it was a blip on a radar. Adrien closed his eyes and shook his head like that was going to be enough to dispel the sensation. "Right, it's Fu. Got it loud and clear. Knock it off please!"

Mari's urgency vanished immediately, replaced by an obvious remorse. "Don't worry about it Mari. You got excited and that's fine." he shrugged.

Monsieur Fu's name plate had a fancy plaque next to it that read 'Alternative Holistic Chinese Medicine.' For a split second, Adrien considered asking Mari about whether or not there was any significance to China with Papillon, Ladybug, Cat Noir, or any of the akumas. Ultimately he decided against it though. Mari might have been able to give him a yes or no answer but if he wanted any more explanation then it wouldn't be available. It was kind of the same reason that he was chasing after this book.

"What should I do?" asked Adrien as he brushed his fingers over the button. Mari responded with a simple image of him pressing the button on the top of his phone. "You just want me to  _press_  it?" he hissed in shock.

Surprise, surprise. Mari's answer was affirmative. Like it was that simple. Adrien scrunched his face up as he thought desperately about how this was going to go down. No matter what he thought there was no good thing to say. The little plaque that declared Monsieur Fu a proprietor of alternative Chinese medicine jumped out to him. "I guess it's lie and say I have an appointment. I just have to get in there and find that book right?" he mumbled.

Adrien let out a long sigh. He hoped he could be quick on his mental feet just in case Fu questioned it which he undoubtedly would. Then, with all the determination he could muster, Adrien jabbed the button. The buzz tone rang from the little panel. However, after a few moments there was no click or static. There was no indication that someone inside had even heard it at all. Adrien blinked in confusion. Once more he poked the button. The tone went off but just like the first time there was no response. A wave of relief coursed through him. "No ones home." he said as he took a step backwards.

A positive feeling rushed through him as Mari celebrated too. That should've put him on his guard first. Mari purposely planted the memory of Chat Blanc stealing Open Book's test and then of him sneaking through Marinette's window. There was heavy emphasis on the theft and breaking and entering parts. "Mari! No!" snapped Adrien, jumping away from the button panel. "I am  _not_ busting into someone's home and stealing from them."

Mari sent him a reminder of him stealing Open Book's test from Ladybug and Cat Noir.

"That was different!"

An image of him sitting in Marinette's room followed it up.

"I didn't actually break in! I had her permission! I wouldn't have actually violated her space."

The need for this random book filled his head with an intense urgency. Papillon's voice, his father, and a variety of other images ran through him so quickly that Adrien wasn't even able to catch them all before Mari put another focus on this book. It was really hard to ignore the entire reason for their endeavor. "Okay, fine." Adrien grumbled. "You're right. I'll do it."

He took one last look at the call button panel. This Fu person lived on the last floor. Simple enough. Adrien could remember that. He turned on his heel and darted for a secluded part around the corner of the building. Nobody was around but he really didn't want to risk someone witnessing him transforming into Chat Blanc voluntarily, especially when he'd taken careful measures to assure that Ladybug and Cat Noir had no idea. The last thing he needed was for that little tidbit to get back to them somehow. Not when he had them believing that he was clueless. "Let's go Mari!" he said.

Power and freedom flooded him as the mask that had become so familiar so quickly appeared on his face. Chat Blanc curled his fingers into a fist as he looked up at the fire escape that hung above his head. He was unable to keep the grin off his face. "Time to be a cat burglar."

The fire escape was too far off the ground to be reached. However, it was easy to jump from the ground to the metal ladder with his enhanced strength. His clawed gloves caught purchase on the rungs, clicking and scraping as he hauled himself up fairly effortlessly. Chat Blanc clung to the shadows of the building as he climbed as quickly as he could to the top. His heart raced with every step he took. It wouldn't have shocked him if it beat right out of his chest. Part thrill, part nerves he guessed. Again, he wasn't too keen on anyone catching him. The police would put an end to his thieving endeavor pretty fast. Ladybug and Cat Noir… well, they'd probably be even faster.

Monsieur Fu's window was unlocked. He probably thought that there was no way any burglar was getting into his apartment from that window. In all fairness, Fu was right in that belief. Someone breaking in through that window was highly unlikely. Unless the person breaking and entering had Superpowers then not so much.

"Monsieur Fu?" Chat Blanc called tentatively poking his head through the window. The only response he got was silence so he stepped through the open window.

Curtains waved gently in the breeze behind him. Chat Blanc must have been in Fu's main business room/front room. There was a mattress lying on the ground with an embroidered pillow beside it. Maybe for massage? Chat Blanc wasn't sure exactly. Incense burned in the corner and made his sensitive nose twitch. Off in the corner was an antique style gramophone. A set of beautiful Chinese screens partitioned off a section of the room. They too looked like they were antiques. Perhaps Mari wasn't so off with the whole 'find the antique book in this random guy's random apartment' thing after all. Clearly, Fu had to like old stuff right?

A feeling that quite clearly said 'hurry' tingled at the back of his mind. Chat Blanc was not about to argue with that one. The first place he checked was the drawers on the table that sat against the wall. More incense. Behind the set of screens was some watering cans for his plants as well as what looked like one of those little tanks for reptiles. A few miscellaneous drawers had things that Chat Blanc assumed were for Fu's practice. There were no bookshelves or books anywhere. He turned towards one of the doors that lead deeper into the apartment. "Alright, no need to freak out. A lot of apartment left still to cover… in an indeterminate amount of time but whatever. This guy most likely doesn't just leave his books on Superheroes, villains, and magical powers just lying out where he sees customers right?" Chat Blanc mumbled under his breath.

"I'll, uh, just check another room." he said as he twisted a door knob at random and was met with a sight that made him simultaneously excited and sick to his stomach. "That is a lot of antique, leather bound books."

There was an entire shelf of them. Floor to ceiling. Chat Blanc assumed that this room was some kind of living room. Mari flashed a picture of his own admittedly gigantic library in his head with kind of a laughing tone over top of it. "That's different Mari." he grumbled.

Mari somehow made it clear that she didn't remotely agree. Chat Blanc could  _feel_  Mari laughing in the back of his mind. "Well could you stop laughing for a half a minute and help me figure out what it is exactly I'm looking for?"

The internal laughing feeling immediately ceased.  _That's exactly what I thought_ , Chat Blanc thought and rolled his eyes. Regardlesss, he grit his teeth as he made a beeline for the bookshelf. There was no real way to sort through the books which didn't help the situation any.

Chat Blanc grabbed the step ladder that was sitting off to the side and propped it up by the far end of the bookshelf. He had no clue how Mari's vision slash memory storing worked but it would definitely be better if the books were in view of the pendant. His fingers skipped over the spines as he read the titles printed on them. Some of the leather on them were cracked and worn with age. None of them were abused though. Chat Blanc had confidence that if he took one off the shelf it wasn't going to fall apart in his hands. There was both embossed golden flaked and painted stamped lettering. The older ones were fading and losing the gloss. Many of the books were in Chinese and that added a different level of challenging. Thanks to his father's endless stream of lessons, he was fluent enough to read and comprehend but it was taking him precious time that he wasn't sure that he even had in the first place.

"Medicine, medicine, history, the Christian Holy Bible in three different languages, Bardo Thodol, geography of Asia, the Quran, more medicine, more history…" Chat Blanc read as he stretched as far as his arm could go. "Mari? Is there even any correlation between these books because I'm not seeing it?"

Mari fluttered against the back of his mind uneasily. Chat Blanc suppressed a groan. "I don't see anything that could remotely be related to magical powers. Just a lot of spirituality texts, medicine, and history books."

A gentle nudge pushed him forwards anyways. He looked at the next shelf. They were mainly history books ranging from general world history to the history of specific countries. Sandwhiched in the middle of them were a set of three big atlases. Interesting but not helpful to him. A small creak from somewhere below him made him pause and look over his shoulder warily. It was nothing though. Chat Blanc did take the time to note the window off to his left just in case he needed a quick escape route if he needed it. He went to the next shelf, bending down at the waist so that he wouldn't have to climb off the step ladder yet.

A few more books with French titles would've been appreciated. Did this Fu guy really need so many foreign language books? And how many books on alternative medicine and history did a person need? Like really, twelve books on the history of China and Tibet was a little excessive for anyone! A growl escaped Chat Blanc's throat. "Unless I'm stupid or completely missing something there is nothing on Ladybug, Cat Noir, Papillon, akumas, Miraculous, or anything remotely magical! This is pointle… Wait!"

Chat Blanc's fingers grazed across an old, brown book with cracked and splitting spine. Emblazoned on it was not words but a series of pictographs. He had no clue what they meant or what they said. However, judging by the way Mari was practically flipping out in his brain he was going to say that this book was a real contender for the one he was looking for. He pulled it off the shelf gingerly and brushed the surface of it.

Musty old book smell hit him like a ton of bricks when he opened the book. It's pages were yellowed from the time and years it had spent under the care of someone less considerate. A shame too. It was beautiful. Chat Blanc's breath caught in his throat as he looked at it. Ink scrawled across the paper in intricate patterns and details. Tiny illustrations dotted the corners. The colors had faded from their original vibrancy he was sure but they definitely didn't detract from the aesthetic. The one thing that Chat Blanc found to complain about was the fact that everything was written in the same pictographs that were on the spine and front cover. "Mari, can you read any of this? Is this the book we're looking for?" he whispered as he leafed through pages and pages of text.

A splotch of red caught his eye and his hand froze midflip. It wasn't Ladybug as he knew her but it was definitely  _a_  Ladybug. The girl depicted was older than her current iteration. Her yo-yo and her Miraculous were the same however. It looked as though that much hadn't changed throughout the years. There was a caption that he couldn't read but suddenly he didn't need to be able to understand what was written in the book. One thing was clear beyond a shadow of a doubt.

This was definitely the book he was looking for!

A grin creeped across Chat Blanc's face as he thumbed through a couple more pages. Cat Noir had a similar section. There were other Miraculous too. Chat Blanc forced himself not to stop and look. He had a feeling that if he started studying what was there then he was going to end up being caught. His hand skimmed across a tall man wearing purple and he jerked to a stop. "Papillon…" he murmured.

There was zero resemblance to his father of course but that didn't unnerve him any less. "This is definitely the book we're looking for! All we have to do is figure out how to read it and we can…"

In the other room, the lock on the door clicked open. Chat Blanc went rigid. His ears flicked towards the sound. His heart literally stopped beating as he watched the door with wide eyes. Very vaguely he was aware that Mari was spazzing out in his mind, throwing images of running at an alarming pace. Chat Blanc swore under his breath and jumped off of the step ladder. He knocked the step ladder over in the process. Well, if he'd been trying to hide the fact that he was there it was useless now.

Footsteps ran through the other room. The door slammed against the wall as a tiny Chinese man in a Hawaiian print shirt through it open. If Chat Blanc was going to take a wild guess he'd say that this was most likely Monsieur Fu. However, it wasn't just Fu that stood in the door glaring at him with narrowed eyes. A little green turtle sprite thing hovered over his shoulder covering it's mouth with little teeny tiny green paws. Or were they flippers?

_What is that thing_? Chat Blanc bit his lip to keep from asking the question out loud. Probably  _not_  the best time to be poking his nose into things like this. Not while he held a book about magical abilities that he had every intention of stealing.

"Who are you?" demanded Fu as he strode forward. He rubbed the green bracelet on his wrist. A Miraculous?

"Master! He has the Grimoire!" the little turtle sprite cried out, pointing at the book in Chat Blanc's hand.

Chat Blanc glanced down at the book and then back at the pair. He forced a smile on to his face. "Um… don't mind me! I'll just be going now. Bye!"

"Hey! Wait!" Fu and his little turtle spirit yelled after him. He wasn't paying attention.

Chat Blanc sprinted headlong for the closed window.  _This is really going to hurt_ , was his last conscious thought right before he curled his shoulders close to his body and then  _throwing_ himself through the window. The angry yelling behind him turned into surprised shouts at his back. They weren't the only ones screaming. Chat Blanc was just as loud as the ground raced towards him at a startlingly quick speed.

Something pulled in his chest. His tail twisted. He felt his ears turn. Chat Blanc's center of balance shifted entirely. He hit the ground feet first but lost his balance and rolled on his back. "Thank you for the cat instincts Mari." he said, scrambling to his feet.

He pressed the book closer to his chest and booked it down the street. All the while he knew that Fu and his little sprite were watching him with huge eyes the entire way. Thankfully, they didn't chase him. Chat Blanc just had to figure out a way to translate the book… and find a place to keep it while he was at it.

X X X

"Incredible…" Fu said as he watched the boy in white leather sprint from his apartment building with his ancient book under his arm. The boy treated it like it was a common textbook.

"I don't know if I should call him exceptionally brave or exceedingly stupid." Wayzz added. He perched on Fu's shoulder and watched too.

Fu shook his head offhandedly. "It's alarming how often the two coincide with one another."

"We need to go after him… or find Ladybug and Cat Noir so  _they_  can go after him."

"No, we should leave him be for now."

"Master! In the wrong hands that book could lead to unparalleled destruction if deciphered!"

"But in the right hands…" Fu let his voice trail off as he thought about what they had just witnessed.

"Yes, it the right hands that book could do worlds of good but…"

Fu cut Wayzz off. "What did that boy look like to you?"

"That was one of Papillon's akumas. Chat Blanc is what I think they called that one." Wayzz answered.

"Are you so sure about that?"

Wayzz started to say something but changed his mind in the middle of the thought. "You don't think that he was possibly a guardian do you?"

"Stranger things have happened wouldn't you agree? We've been at this a very long time." Fu said. He pulled away from the window and stared at the empty spot on his bookshelf, running a hand across his beard thoughtfully.

"We can't take that chance. We have to get the Grimoire back before something terrible happens."

"Wayzz who did that boy look like to you?" Fu asked seriously.

"I don't know." Wayzz shrugged. Fu leveled his eyes at him.

"He didn't strike you as familiar in any sort of way?"

There was a very direct point that he was trying to drive home to Wayzz. For a moment, Wayzz stared at him in confusion. Fu momentarily doubted that he would understand what he was getting at. Then realization dawned on him. "No!" he gasped, little jaw falling open.

Fu gave him a lopsided smile. "Yes."

"You don't think that he's…" Wayzz whispered.

"I do think so which is why I think we ought to leave him alone for the time being."

Wayzz was silent for a few minutes. They both took another look out the broken window and down at the street. Chat Blanc was long gone. Fu would have to come up with something to tell both his neighbors and the landlord about the broken window. Perhaps an overweight, uncoordinated pigeon would be believable. In the meantime though, Fu had other things to think about.

"It would be incredibly dangerous."

Things like  _that_  for example.

Fu nodded, "I know but let's see what Adrien Agreste, the  _son_ , will do."

"As you say Master."


	6. Intro to Computer Research

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty! This update is two days late. I apologize profusely. I'm starting a new summer job here tomorrow and I have been very busy planning and prepping for that. As such, my time has slowly flown out the window and I have no idea where it's gone. If you see it, please let it know that I miss it very much and wish it would come back home. LOL. The next thing that I wanted to say is that I unfortunately will be taking a hiatus after this update. Again, my summer job is very time involved. It is also going to be very hard to get to a computer to write and update. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or just want to know what's happening please consider following me on Tumblr. I am fieryartemisproductions there and I will be posting a little bit about things as they pop up in the summer! I hope to get back as soon as possible so please bear with me!

Marinette frowned as she held up two balls of yarn up for closer inspection.  Her brow furrowed and her nose scrunched up with concentration.  The snow white would really make Adrien’s blonde hair stand out and shine.  It was really soft too.  The pale blue, however, complimented his eyes perfectly.  She had zero idea.  Her brain was whispering ‘text Nino’ to her persuasively.  Nino  _ was _ Adrien’s best friend.  If anyone had some sort of idea about what color scarf Adrien would prefer for his upcoming birthday it would be Nino.  The logical part of her kept on reminding her that if she told Nino she was making Adrien a scarf, he would tell Alya.  Together they would expect a large production when she gave it to him… including Marinette coming clean about her crush on Adrien.

 

Her face turned red just  _ thinking _ about it!  Confessing to Adrien?  Nope!  No way.  Giving the banner to him had nearly made her combust.  She’d could barely handle going to his fencing exhibition.  Marinette was just going to give Adrien the scarf, wish him a happy birthday, and pray that he’d touch her hand as he took the box.  That and if she could get through it all without stuttering and stammering like an idiot it would be a definite bonus.  All she had to do was figure out what color yarn she wanted to make her scarf out of.  That put her firmly back on square one.  “Great,” she moaned to herself.

 

There was a knock on her window.

 

Marinette froze.  “Oh not again.”

 

Slowly, she turned around.  Standing on her windowsill once more was Chat Blanc.  He smiled cheekily at her as he waved.  He held a rather thick, brown leather book close to his chest.  Marinette groaned when she saw it.  “Please!  Not again.” she whined.

 

She sat her yarn down and strode to the window.  Amice Fontaine’s test still sat on her desk in the folder that she’d put it in.  Marinette had a mind to throw it at Chat Blanc’s face and send him packing.  The last thing she wanted was to be wrapped up in magical Superhero craziness!  “Whatever you brought me this time, I’m not interested!” she told him as she slid her window open.

 

“Sooo… you  _ don’t _ want to know why Amice’s test is important?” he asked innocently.  He shifted the big book under his arm. 

 

Marinette narrowed her eyes, “Talk fast kitty.”

 

“Can I at least come in?”

 

Okay, there was definitely genuine politeness in that question.  Marinette stepped aside and waved her hand in silent permissions.  Chat Blanc sighed in relief.  He wasted no time in dropping into her room and stretching his legs.  “What did you find out about the test?”

 

“Well, it’s not exactly what I found _ out _ per say…” he dragged the last words out.

 

“Really Chat?” huffed Marinette.  She could already feel the insane headache coming on.

 

Chat Blanc shook his head, “It’s more about what I  _ found _ about Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Papillon!”

 

He held the book out to her, bouncing it in the air lightly.  Marinette took it from him.  The letters printed on it weren’t in a language that Marinette recognized.  Actually, Marinette didn’t think it  _ was  _ a language at all!  It was just a bunch pictures and symbols.  “What exactly is this?” she asked.

 

Chat Blanc reached over and flipped through the pages.  He had bookmarked a few of them with scraps of paper.  The first page he opened it to depicted a different version of Ladybug in all her glory.  Her yo-yo and a pair of earrings also were clearly emphasized as well.  Marinette guessed that the blocks of symbols that surround the pictures described what each thing was and why it was important.  No way to really know though since it was all foreign.  Chat Blanc tapped the picture of the earrings.  “That’s Ladybug’s Miraculous.  It’s what gives her all of her powers.”

 

“Oh?” Marinette murmured.  She hadn’t known that.  Chat Blanc didn’t give her much time to reflect on it because he flipped to the next bookmark.  It was Cat Noir’s.  

 

“That ring is Cat Noir’s Miraculous.” he told her pointing to the black ring shown.

 

“What else do these little symbols tell you?” she asked him as she ran her fingers across the page over them.  

 

He flashed a grin at her.  “The pictographs didn’t tell me that.  Papillon did back when he first transformed me into Chat Blanc.  Funnelled the images straight through to my brain.”

 

“That’s disconcerting.” Marinette said, looking at him with wide eyes.

 

“Eh, you kind of get used to it after awhile.” he shrugged.  Marinette pursed her lips.  She was literally ready to ask him exactly what he meant by that particular statement.  However, he went on before giving her a chance.  “The next few pages look as though they go on to talk about how each of the Miraculous works.  Here’s the page on Papillon.”

 

There were more images of the butterfly pin.  Surrounding it were people dressed in various costumes and armor.  “Are those akuma?”

 

“My guess is yes.”

 

Marinette gave him a guarded look.  “Your  _ guess _ ?”

 

“Well, I mean I can’t read these words so I’m only guessing here.” 

 

Chat Blanc said it so nonchalantly that Marinette almost thought that it wasn’t that big of a deal.  Then she remembered what exactly she was dealing with.  “You have no idea what any of this says?” she demanded as she waved her hand over the book.

 

“No but I can make a few educated conclusions based on what I already know.  Maybe I can figure out how to translate it or something.  I’m willing to bet that we can find out why that test is so important somewhere in here!”

 

“Educated conclusion.  You’ve got to be kidding me.” she grumbled under her breath.  “That’s not going to be possible and you know it!  If you’re going to get any useful information then we have to know what this book says!  Do you even know where to  _ start _ translating?”

 

A sheepish expression spread across Chat Blanc’s face.  Marinette was going to have to guess that the answer was a big fat giant no.  She fought back a sigh.  “What about the place you got this book from?  Could someone there point you in the right direction?”

 

“Um… maybe but I don’t think they’re going to be interested in helping me for a certain reason.” Chat Blanc told her.  He gave her a weak cheesy grin and shuffled his foot on the ground.  Marinette slapped her forehead with the book.

 

“You stole it didn’t you?”

 

“Call me a cat…” The rest of the sentence was cut off by her hand over his mouth.

 

“Do not make that pun that you were about to make.” she told him, glaring icily at him.

 

She felt him smile under her hand.  Cheeky cat.  Marinette sighed but pulled her hand away from his mouth.  “It’s a good thing I wasn’t caught because they could’ve charged me with  _ feline _ -y burglary.” he said instead.

 

“That one was even worse.” Marinette said under her breath.  She shook her head and pulled the book from Chat Blanc’s hands.  Slowly, Marinette flipped through some of the previous pages in exploration.  “How much of this have you looked through?”

 

“Not very much.  There’s a lot of stuff.  I only went looking for the things that I thought would be helpful at the moment.  Figured there would be more time to go through it all after I figured out the significance of Open Book’s test.  Did you know that there’s a bunch of other Miraculous holders as well?  Like a fox and a bee?”

 

“I wonder where they are then?” Marinette mused as she found the page with the fox Miraculous.  They desperately needed a way to translate the symbols.  There was no was no other way for Chat Blanc to get to the bottom of the mystery of why he needed Amice’s test.  Unfortunately it wasn’t like Marinette had the code book sitting on her desk or in her bag.  Maybe if they were to check the… the idea popped into Marinette’s head that there was barely five seconds between it and her turning for her desk where her phone sat.

  
“Hey!  What are you doing?” squawked Chat Blanc.

 

He rushed forward as Marinette sat the book down on her desk and held her phone over it.  Marinette easily sidestepped him.  She was so much smaller than him that she was able to simply duck underneath his outstretched arms.  “Calm down Chat.  I’m trying to help you.” she said, waving him away.

 

“Are you taking  _ pictures _ !” Chat Blanc visibly balked.  

 

“Yep!  And I’m going to post them online too!” 

 

“What?  No!  Marinette that is a horrible idea!  People will see it.”

 

“That’s the point.” she said as she rolled her eyes.  “Just because we don’t know the code doesn’t mean someone else won’t.  The internet is a huge place.  Someone  _ has _ to have seen it before.  Don’t worry.  I’ll only take close pictures of the symbols.  Not the illustrations.”

 

“What if it goes viral and the wrong people see it?” Chat Blanc demanded.  He ran his hands through his hair anxiously as he watched her take another picture.

 

“Those chances are slim to none.  Do you want me to call my friend Alya to get the exact odds?”

 

“Please don’t.”

 

Marinette laughed.  She held her phone out for him to inspect.  The pictures were tight shots of one of the captions on the page with all the supposed akuma from Papillon.  It was a big enough sample that would hopefully give someone enough to identify it.  Chat Blanc scrunched up his nose as he inspected it closely.  His expression was changing.  He bit his lip as his brow furrowed.  “Do you really think that there’s someone out there who knows how to translate this?”

 

“It’s a long shot but maybe we’ll get lucky.  It’s not like it’s the entire book.  We only need enough to get us started.  After that we can fill in the rest of the blanks ourselves.”

 

“We?” asked Chat Blanc.  He looked up at her, eyebrow raising.

 

Marinette’s brain skid to a halt.  It wouldn’t have surprised her if Chat Blanc could’ve heard the figurative screeching.  “Y… you know what I mean!” she stammered as she pulled her phone away from him.

 

“Can’t you at least admit that I make you’re life a little more interesting?” teased Chat Blanc.  She could hear him holding back his laughter.

 

“Absolutely not!” Marinette said firmly.  She pulled out her connector cable and plugged her phone into the computer.  The images loaded easily.  “I’m going to get you started.  Then, once you have all the information you need to translate this book, I can get you out of my hair.”

 

“Hey…” Chat Blanc started.  He drew the word out as he said it.  “About the book.  Do you think you could keep it here?  You know, like with Open Book’s test?”

 

“No,” she said.

 

“Okay.” 

 

“You’re going to spend the next few minutes trying to think of a way to convince me to hang on to it aren’t you?”   
  


“Honestly, I was just going to conveniently forget about taking it with me when I left.”

 

“Of course you were.  Maybe if you told me why exactly it was that you can’t take it with you…”

 

Chat Blanc didn’t say anything.  There was only the sound of her typing away at her computer.  “Does it have anything to do with the fact that Ladybug and Cat Noir already know who you are?”

 

“Partially,” he answered.  It was so quiet that she thought she might have missed it.  Marinette turned to look at him.  Chat Blanc was frowning and completely lost in thought.

 

“Then is the rest of it because of your ‘more pressing matters than stealing Ladybug and Cat Noir’s Miraculous’ thing?”

 

“I thought you didn’t want to be involved?” Chat Blanc reminded her.  He grit his teeth as he pointedly looked away from her.  There was definitely a lot of things he wasn’t telling her.  She was going to have to take that as a yes then.  

 

“I don’t.” nodded Marinette.

 

“Then you probably shouldn’t ask me any more questions.” he told her quietly.  

 

Marinette looked at the book again.  It was a big, giant suspected  _ reservoir _ of information about Ladybug, Cat Noir, Papillon, Miraculous, and who knew what other sort of magical things.  Chat Blanc was worried about the book and it’s information falling into the wrong hands.  He had previously been possessed by one of Papillon’s akumas.  Papillon was probably the epitome of ‘wrong hands.’  Chat Blanc had sworn up and down that he was no longer under Papillon’s influence.  Marinette wondered just how hard it would be for Papillon to reassert himself in Chat Blanc’s head… especially if he found out that he was in possession of a resource such as the book that was currently sitting on her desk.  

  
Marinette fought back a shudder.  “Are you cold?  I can shut your window.” Chat Blanc offered.

 

“No, no.  I’m fine.  Thanks though.  I’m almost done anyways.” She shook it off.  Chat Blanc really wasn’t such a bad guy.  He really hadn’t been when he’d been possessed the first time either.  After all, he’d gone out of his way to save her hadn’t he?  There had to be a reason that he was still becoming Chat Blanc despite being purified even if he wouldn’t tell her what it was.  He was on a mission.  Marinette could say that without a single doubt creeping into her mind.  “There!”

 

“Did you seriously post it on Reddit?” Chat Blanc’s eyes went wide when he saw it over her shoulder.

 

Marinette rolled her eyes, “It has one of the largest readerships in the world.  People from all over are going to see it.”

 

“This could either be a really good thing or a really bad thing.”

 

“I suppose you’ll have to check back with me in a few days to see if I’ve gotten any leads.” she said as she examined the post that she’d made.

 

“Uh… I have a really busy schedule this week.  Can I stop by next Sunday around this time?” winced Chat Blanc.

 

“I guess so.”

 

“Great!  I will see you then… unless something else happens and I have to come find you again.” Chat Blanc told her cheerfully.

 

“Here’s hoping it’s another quiet week.” she mumbled under her breath.  Chat Blanc must have heard her because he laughed loudly.  

 

“I will see you around princess.” he said.  He gave her a brilliant smile and a pat on the shoulder.  Marinette turned to watch him leave again through her window.  That’s when she caught sight of her yarn from the corner of her eye.  

 

“Hey!  Chat!  Wait a minute.” called Marinette.  Chat Blanc froze with one foot on her windowsill.  His faux cat ears flicked towards her as he twisted to look around at her.  Marinette grabbed the white and blue yarn.

 

“What?” he asked.

 

“What do you think?  White yarn or blue?”  Marinette held the two choices up for him.

 

Chat Blanc was so very eloquent.  “Huh?” 

 

Marinette brought them closer to him.  “Which do you think looks better?”

 

“I wanna touch ‘em.” he told her, eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree.  He wiggled his fingers as he reached for the yarn.  Chat Blanc full on pouted when she pulled the yarn out of his grasp.

 

“Nuh-uh, not for kitties to play with.  You’d tangle it all up and then I couldn’t use it.” 

 

“That is a hurtful stereotype that needs to die.” muttered Chat Blanc.  “I would not.”

 

“Come on.  Be serious.  This is really important to me.  Which one do you think looks better?”

 

Chat Blanc made a pensive sound in the back of his throat.  He cocked his head to the side, examining the two choices.  “That one,” he said pointing to the blue yarn.  “I like the blue one.”

 

Marinette pulled a length of the blue yarn out in front of her.  She bit her lip as she thought it over.  Blue really did go beautifully with Adrien’s eyes.  She gave a nod.  “Thanks Chat Blanc.”

 

“Um… sure, no problem.”

 

X   X   X

 

“I still think one of us should use the opportunity to search through Adrien’s room for Open Book’s exam.” Nino said as he finished hitting the ‘download’ button on his screen.  The confirmation message popped up and he spun his chair around to face Alya.  “We’d be in the perfect position to look for it.”

 

Alya stared at him skeptically.  “You  _ really _ think that uptight, stick in the mud Gabriel Agreste is going to give us permission to use his house as a party venue?  You  _ really _ think that?”   
  


“It’s Adrien’s birthday!  Why wouldn’t he?” Nino explained.  He shot her a smile.  

 

“This is the same man that kept his son homeschooled and sheltered his entire life so that he didn’t get into trouble.  You tell me why.” Alya snorted, completely unconvinced.  

 

Nino sighed.  He pushed his glasses up so that he could massage the bridge of his nose.  It was nowhere near enough to relieve the tension that had built up there.  “I just don’t like the it… this whole thing.  Chat Blanc coming back, Open Book’s missing exam, Adrien’s amnesia.  None of it!  I hate what it could all possibly add up to.”

 

Alya looked over her shoulder.  Plagg and Tikki were curled up in the far corner of the room fast asleep.  She dropped her voice to a hushed whisper so as not to disturb them.  “I hate it too.  There isn’t much we can do about it right now.”

 

“Do you think it’s too much to hope that it was a one time deal?  Adrien retransforming into Chat Blanc I mean?” Nino asked softly.

 

“I don’t think even all my luck as Ladybug would be enough for that.” mumbled Alya.  She sat down beside him and reached over.  Nino leaned into her touch as she rubbed his back soothingly.

 

“Yeah… I guess you’re right.” Nino shook his head.  He sighed once more.  

 

“Look on the bright side Kit Kat Pattywhack.  We’ve watched Adrien pretty closely all week long and not once has he transformed into Chat Blanc whenever he was upset or angry.  That’s something right.”

 

“Or you could look at it through the lense of ‘now we have absolutely no idea what triggers the transformation.’” Nino huffed.

 

Alya whacked him on the shoulder.  “You’re just a ball of optimism aren’t you?”

 

“Sorry, sorry.  You’re right babe.” he replied, massaging the side she’d hit.

 

Alya grinned down at him.  “Let’s focus on something we can do.  Like looking for that exam.”

 

“As you’ve already so kindly pointed out, we probably won’t be able to swing Monsieur Agreste’s permission to have a party at Adrien’s house.”

 

“Which is why I procured a reservation at one of the picnic shelters in the park for Friday afternoon.” smirked Alya.  “There will be a big sign in front of it that reads ‘Bonne Anniversaire Adrien’ on it.”

 

Nino’s jaw dropped.  “When did you make that reservation.  I thought the park was all booked that day because of the Kidz+ weather competition.  Isn’t the winner supposed to be announced that day with professional pictures to follow?”

 

“Yep!  But you know me.  I have my ways.  As soon as Adrien told us that his dad had a deep, passionate loathing for anything that was remotely fun I got to work.” Alya told him, reaching forward to boop him on the nose.  Nino picked his mouth up off the ground and returned her smirk.

 

“And I suppose that while this little shindig is in session you’ll sneak over to his place and rummage around a bit?”

 

“All you have to do is keep him occupied.  I should be back in plenty of time for cake, ice cream, and presents.” Alya winked.  Nino’s computer beeped at him.  Apparently the music player he’d been loading music on to was done syncing.  

 

“I think I can swing that.  It’s going to be one heck of a dance party that’s for sure.” Nino told her.  He disconnected his music player and waved it in the air for emphasis.

 

“Barring no unforeseen  _ incidents _ , Adrien’s first actual birthday party should go off without a hitch!” nodded Alya.


	7. Sunny Skies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELP! I know how to update in a timely fashion! LOL nope. Anywho, please enjoy this installment. Thanks everyone for being patient with me!

"Nino is this really necessary?" Adrien asked.

Nino snickered but his hands over Adrien's eyes didn't move. "Totally! Trust me dude! It's all worth it."

"Somehow I don't doubt that. You told me that it was absolutely, and I'm quoting you directly on this, super important that I get my father to clear my schedule this afternoon."

"Either that or find a way to ditch. I'm glad you got your free time. If you had ditched it would've just given your old man even more reason to hate my guts. How'd you do it exactly?"

Adrien cleared his throat and let his voice slip into a tone that he'd learned from Chloe. "But Dad! It's my birthday! How can I  _not_  have any free time to myself that day? That's just incredibly cruel!"

Nino laughed so hard that his hands nearly slipped from over Adrien's eyes. He caught a glimpse of bright sun and what appeared to be iron wrought fencing. However, before he could be sure Nino's hands were firmly back in place. Adrien shrugged. "I'm pretty sure I just annoyed him to the point that he moved my Chinese lesson to Saturday just to shut me up. Poor Nathalie was so confused. She couldn't figure out why he did something so accommodating."

"Um... because it's your birthday?" Nino supplied as if it were obvious.

"Yeah," sighed Adrien. "She doesn't remember that."

"Dude how can she not remember when your birthday is. Hasn't she worked for your dad since the dawn of time?"

"It isn't like Dad is ever here to remind her."

This year, like many years in the past, his father was out of the country. He'd left a few days beforehand. Maybe that had something to do with the fact that akuma attacks had been conveniently lacking since Open Book. His father had missed his birthday without fail ever since his mother had died. His half-hearted birthday wishes usually came through Nathalie a couple of days later along with a gift that didn't really take a lot of thought. It was a bit of yearly tradition for the two of them. A very light feeling touched the back of his mind. Mari's way of trying to reassure him that he wasn't alone this year. Adrien wrapped his hand around the necklace to let the warmth seep through him. This year, thanks to his friends and Mari, it had been a lot more pleasant of a birthday.

"Your dad skipped out on your birthday?" Nino repeated quietly.

"It's alright. I'm used to it by now."

Nino whistled. "Wow! That sure makes me glad that we took the time to set this up."

"What do you mean by this?"

Nino suddenly stopped. Adrien nearly tripped because of it. Nino's dropped his hands from Adrien's face. Light blinded him for a brief moment, making his eyes water a little bit. That was quickly forgotten though.

"Happy birthday!" yelled a cacophony of people.

Adrien jumped back in surprise. He stood at the entrance to the local park, the one that was by the school, staring at just about everyone that was in his class. Alya waved to him from behind a table with a bright green table cloth on it. She picked up Marinette's hand and forced her to wave as well. Kim and Alix smiled widely at him beside them, holding streamers that were strewn about in the surrounding tree branches. A little in front of the picnic table stood Rose and Juleka with handfuls of yellow and blue balloons. Chloe looked a little bored with what was happening but at least Sabrina seemed to be interested in what was happening as they stood guard over a multilayered cake. Nathanael, Mylene, Ivan, and Max stood by a small pile of wrapped presents and looked as though they'd just finished stacking them neatly. Adrien didn't know what else to do so he let his jaw drop.

"Surprise buddy!" Nino told him as he squeezed his shoulders.

"You… you put this all together?" Adrien forced his jaw shut again to avoid looking like a fish out of water. Nino pushed him forwards towards everyone so they weren't hanging around the park gates. He looked over the scene once again, trying to grasp everything and soak it all in. Very faintly he felt Mari brush the back of his mind. It occurred to him that Mari had probably seen what he was being lead to before Nino uncovered his eyes. Mari flashed Nino's face in his mind along with a warm feeling.  _Yeah,_  Adrien agreed,  _he's a pretty awesome friend._

"Well, me and Alya. It was a team effort."

"Why'd you do this for me?"

"We kinda figured that your dad wouldn't do anything cool for you so we banded together to make this happen." Alya said as she walked up to him and hugged him tightly.

"I can't believe you've never had a birthday party before." Kim said.

"That's rough." nodded Alix.

"You guys really didn't have to do this for me."

"Don't worry about it. We wanted to so just hang out and enjoy the afternoon." Nino said slapping his shoulder. He picked up his phone from the table and hit play. His latest celebratory playlist pumped through his bluetooth speaker. "I wanted to bring my entire DJ setup with the turntables, amps, and everything but that Kidz+ weather kid competition wraps up today with a photoshoot here with the winner. The city said that they didn't want bulky equipment nearby."

"Yeah, they moved my photoshoot up to this afternoon at lunch so it wouldn't conflict with it. I'm surprised that they even let you set this up. I'm glad you did though." Adrien smiled.

Nino returned it. "Alya and her contacts."

"Come over here and take it easy for a bit birthday boy!" said Kim, slapping the table beside him.

Marinette hovered somewhat close by he noticed, like she wasn't entirely sure what to do with herself. He saw her look over at Alya. Alya only made a weird jerking motion with her head. He was about to ask her what was wrong. Before he could though Mari threw an image of the book he'd left with Marinette into his brain followed by him as Chat Blanc in her window.

"Not now." he muttered under his breath so that no one other than Mari could hear him. It wouldn't be good to have the new friends he knew so little about think he was a nut job. Mari protested with another flashed image of the book with a little more urgency behind it. Adrien fought to keep the wince off his face. He wanted to know too. Sitting in front of Marinette every day, wondering if she'd heard anything yet from the line she'd tossed out, was as close as he'd ever come to torture. And his father had made him sit through a presentation about ettituque. That was two hours of his life he was never going to get back. "We promised her a week. It's only Friday." he insisted.

Mari huffed but relented. Adrien cast another side glance at Marinette. Man! Now he really wanted to know. He pushed the thoughts aside as he slid into the seat next to Kim. "Alright he's here and you've seen him! Can we please go now!" whined a young voice from under the table.

More correctly, from right under his feet. A little girl poked her head up between the bench and the picnic table a few mere inches from his thigh. Adrien jerked and pulled his legs to his side. He was used to people invading his personal space but the kid had surprised him. "Manon!" Marinette said as she blushed from ear to ear.

"You promised we could go ride the merry-go-round Marinette!" the little girl insisted. She scrambled up and on to the picnic bench. She wasn't pouting per say but her eyes were really, really wide.

"Friend of your's Marinette?" Adrien asked as he shifted sideways so the little the girl could sit comfortably next to him.

"She… um… is, well, uh… She's…" Marinette stammered as her hands wove intricate patterns in the air in front of her chest.

"I'm Manon." the little girl introduced herself.

Alya came up behind Marinette and threw her arm over her shoulder. "Marinette is babysitting her while her mom reports on the Kidz+ weather kid competition. She's a big shot news anchor."

"I wanted to see Mireille win but Marinette said that I had to come with her to your party. She told me we could ride the merry-go-round." Manon explained. She crossed her arms over her chest. She turned to look at Marinette with wide eyes.

"Oh no. Manon not the kitty eyes. You know I can't say no to the kitty eyes." Marinette said shaking her head.

"Puhlease! You promised!" Manon continued. She batted her eyelashes at Marinette. Adrien pressed his lips together and covered his mouth. Oh! Marinette couldn't say no to kitty eyes? He was so going to remember that!

Marinette wavered. Her glance landed on him for a half a moment before she gave a sigh. "Alright. You're right I did promise."

"Wait! Hold on! How about I take the little monkey to the merry-go-round?" Alya volunteered. She stepped forward quickly. Manon made a face, shot off the bench, and promptly wrapped herself around Marinette's leg.

"No! I want Marinette."

"It's alright Alya. I'll just take her for a quick ride and come back." Marinette laughed, clearly embarrassed. She lifted the leg that Manon was clinging to up. "I know she won't want to miss the cake."

That got Manon's attention. "Cake?"

"It's a birthday party. What did you expect? Now come on you."

Adrien managed to hide his smile until Marinette's back was turned and she was making her way with the eight year old still strapped to her leg. "That's sweet of her." Adrien commented.

Alya shrugged like it was no big deal. The smile on her face though was knowing. "That's our Marinette. Sometimes she's too accommodating for her own good."

Yeah. That he already knew. There was a stolen test and magic book hiding in her bedroom to prove it. Adrien felt guilt tighten around his chest. "Dude, what's with that sour face? It's your party!" Nino said slapping him on the shoulder.

"Maybe Adrien would like to dance. That might make this boring party a little more interesting." Chloe suggested. She held her hand out to him as if she were some sort of queen ready to be escorted around the ballroom.

"You know there was nothing saying that you had to come." Alix said in a bored tone.

X X X

Their classmates closed in around Adrien, sucking up his attention quite effectively. Alya couldn't hide the smirk. All according to plan. Except for the fact that Marinette's 'couldn't say no' favor to her mom's friend. At least Adrien thought her dedication was sweet. Point scored for her girl. Now all there was to do was to sneak away. She cast a glance at Adrien. He was safely bantering back and forth, trying to appease Chloe and the rest of his friends. Now it was time for the second part of the plan. Tikki poked her head out of Alya's inner pocket to give her a thumbs up.

"Alright Nino." she whispered in his ear as she came around to his side. "I'm counting on you to keep this thing going while I'm gone."

Nino gave her a salute. "Leave it to me babe. I'll hold down the fort until you get back."

"Remember if anyone asks…"

"You totally went to go grab your memory card for your camera."

"It's good to have people I can rely wholly on." Alya pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I'm gonna go check in with Marinette really quick and then I'm out."

"Good luck. Hope you find what we need." Nino told her.

Alya found Marinette standing in line to buy tickets for the merry-go-round. Manon hung on her arm, practically bouncing. It was probably better that Manon had refused to go on the merry-go-round with her. While Alya really wanted to help Marinette out with talking to Adrien, she also needed to go and scope out his room when he wasn't there. "Marinette! I have to run and go grab my memory card." Alya said as she approached.

Marinette spun around, clutching her money in her fist. Her eyes widened and her voice shot up an entire octave when she spoke. "What? You promised that you wouldn't leave me alone here."

"I promise I'll be back in plenty of time for the presents thing. I'll be right there when you give him that pretty handmade scarf personally." Alya assured her. Marinette's face was still gray. "You can do this I know you can. You gave him that banner for his fencing match."

"That was different. I do that for almost every competition we go to! This scarf is for Adrien specifically." Marinette's words seemed to run together, loud and fast. A second thought crossed her mind and she leaned in close to Alya. "He could actually  _wear_  it." she whispered as though it was a horrible thought.

Alya sighed, "You do realize that this is the same conversation we had right before you gave him the banner right? And yes, of  _course_  he could wear the scarf. That's the point. Remember."

"Marinette! Quick talking about stinky boys and hurry up! It's our turn." Manon whined. She tugged on Marinette's arm hard enough to pull her off balance. That, or Marinette was just unsteady on her feet from talking about giving Adrien her gift. Probably the latter. The girl was entirely too skittish when it came to that boy.

"I'm coming. I'm coming." she assured Manon. She looked back up at Alya and opened her mouth to say something. Alya cut her off though.

"I'll be back in a little bit. We can talk about this then okay. Nino will stall if I'm not back in time for presents."

An idea popped into her brain. "Manon!"

The little girl looked up at her in confusion and pointed to herself. Alya dropped to one knee in front of her. "I've got a special mission for you. You've got to make sure that Marinette doesn't hide behind you and gets back over there okay!"

"What's in it for me?" Manon asked warily.

"An extra slice of cake."

"Throw in one of those Mireille balloons and we have a deal."

She pointed over to a vender selling balloons with the faces of the hopeful Kidz+ weather kids on them. "You drive a hard bargain but I'll do it."

Manon nodded, "Deal."

"No wait! Alya! You can't just make that promise!" Marinette sputtered.

"Gotta go! See you in a bit!" Alya waved and ignored Marinette's frenzied calls for her. She'd be okay. Marinette just needed a little bit of confidence is all!

Alya made a beeline for the park's entrance. As soon as she got around a blind corner and into virtual seclusion, Tikki popped out of her pocket. "Alright Tikki! Let's go! Transformé moi!"

X X X

Adrien slammed his hand over his chest as soon as Mari lit up his pendant. A hair too late. "What was that?" asked Max.

"What was what?" Adrien asked innocently.

"That light I just saw?" Max pointed out, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, I saw it too." Mylene said quietly.

Adrien laughed lightly but mentally decided he was going to have a chat about when the appropriate times were to light up like a neon sign. In front of his friends was not the time! He plastered on a huge smile and shrugged. "Sorry. It's just one of those silly necklaces that light up. I got it out of a vending machine the other day. It's a bit dysfunctional because it lights up whenever it wants."

Mari gave him what was quite clearly an indignant scoff. Adrien patted the necklace before shifting in Rose's direction. "You were saying?" he prompted.

"Oh my God!" cried Chloe. She shoved herself in between him and Kim, thrusting her phone out for him to see. She had the Kidz+ app open on it. "Mireille won the competition! Look at this. Totally won by a landslide."

"Good for her." Alix snorted.

Nino groaned and wiped his hand down his face. "Man! That means they'll be coming this way for the photo shoot. Adrien dude, do you think they'll make us turn off the music?"

"I have no idea. Hard to say. It all honestly depends on the photographer. I've seen some that are complete diva's and…"

"Ugh, I guess Mireille is cute enough. I would've won by an even bigger margin if I'd been finalist." Chloe interrupted, waving her hand through the air dismissively.

"Well it's a good thing that the city sponsored the contest and government officials and their kids couldn't enter." Nathanael muttered under his breath. Adrien pressed his hand over his mouth to hide his smile. That had been pretty good.

"What was that?" Sabrina demanded. Chloe turned.

Nathanael shook his head. "N… nothing."

Chloe narrowed her eyes at him but ultimately let the remark go. Adrien noticed Juleka smiling slightly while Ivan offered him a high five under the table. Sneaky. Chloe rambled on about how it would've been unfair for her to enter the competition by way of her superior flawlessness. No one was really paying her attention. Nino was rolling his eyes at her. Rose decided that she didn't need to try and include Chloe in the conversation and resumed talking about the next charity fundraiser the school did. Adrien tuned into that conversation, pushing a stray windblown hair behind his ear as he put in a couple of suggestions of his own.

"Adrien…" Mylene started hesitantly. "You know more about photography than I do but are they still going to be able to do the photoshoot in the wind?"

"The wind?" he repeated.

That's when he noticed just how strong it was. Juleka was fighting to keep her hair out of her face by holding it all in one big bunch by her shoulder. Nathanael pressed his arms down over his sketchbook's pages to keep them from blowing open. Nino squawked when he saw some trash from the ground start making its way to the cake. Mylene and Rose sprang up to help him. "There wasn't supposed to be any strong wind today?" Nino complained.

"Maybe there's a storm rolling in?" Max suggested. "There always seems to be a lot of wind before a storm."

"Awesome! We can go mud sliding on your birthday dude!" Kim pumped his fist through the air.

Chloe visibly shuddered. "Ew! I will  _not_  be doing that."

"No one said you had to."

"Are we sure it's safe to be outside?"

"The skies are getting really dark."

"Is Alya going to be alright walking back to her house? She just left. Someone should call her and tell her to come back."

"Where's Marinette? We should get her too."

"I don't think there was rain in the forecast either." murmured Adrien, ignoring the remarks of his friends. He hadn't personally checked the weather report but he was absolutely certain of that fact. It made sense. Nino wouldn't go through all the trouble of planning a birthday party on day that there was supposed to be rain. His pendant lit up once more.

"What is it?" he whispered while everyone was distracted. An image of Open Book sprang to his mind. "She's come back?"

The response he got from Mari was an adamant no. He raked his hands through his hair. "What is it then? What does Open Book have to do with…"

Lightning split the sky. A ton of balloons popped all at one at the other end of the park. "Mireille. Mireille. Mireille! What's so great about Mireille? I am so much better!" snarled a voice from above the park.

Adrien jumped away from the table. Mari's image of Open Book suddenly made sense. So did the whole thing about lighting up at random times. They weren't random at all. He was convinced of that as he stared up at the flying girl through the tops of the trees. Her purple hair and dress twisted through the wind that she conducted like a maestro with her black parasol. Over her stone cold face was a black mask that had a distinctive shape that Adrien was starting to become overly familiar with. A butterfly.

"Akuma!" he yelled.

"Run!" Nino shouted. He abandoned trying to protect the cake in favor of shoving Mylene and Rose towards the exit. Adrien moved to grab Chloe. She stood gaping up at the akuma in surprise.

"Let's see if this cools your opinion of that little priss!" the akuma snapped. She whipped her parasol down at the ground. Not at them though.

A high pitched scream rose over the park above the sound of wind. Adrien's heart stopped beating.

_A girl screamed, high pitched and terrified, as the railing above her let loose an earth shaking crack. Chat Blanc spun around. Ladybug screamed the girl's name._

"Marinette."


	8. Stormy Weather

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! An extra long chapter. A little late but not too bad. I really wanted to get the entire Stormy Weather fight in this chapter so yeah. I've got a little bit more to do with the birthday arc but I should wrap that up in the next chapter or so.

Marinette screamed. She clutched Manon to her chest protectively as she squeezed her eyes shut. Icy cold blasted through her thin autumn jacket, raising bumps on her arms. Then everything fell still. The ripping wind that had nearly blown her ears off suddenly deadened. The cold remained. Very tentatively Marinette opened her eyes. Immediately she wished she hadn't.

"It's all icy." whispered Marinette in a kind of awed yet horrified voice.

A thick dome of ice encased the entire merry-go-round. It rose way over their heads and was one single sheet with no default or chinks that Marinette could see. Little points had formed on the top of the merry-go-round. What was worse was she could literally see them growing bigger and bigger as she looked them. A lump formed in her throat. She tore her eyes away from the growing stalactites so that Manon didn't notice it too.

Outside a girl dressed in purple flitted away. The akuma that had probably trapped them. The world on the other side of the ice was blurry so Marinette felt rather than actually saw the smug look on her face.  _Please let everyone else be okay_ , she thought and tried to keep the nausea at bay.

"What are gonna do?" Manon asked. Her little frame shook against Marinette's side. Cold or fear? She wasn't sure. Probably a little, or a lot, of both.

Marinette smiled down at her brightly as if there was nothing wrong. "It will be alright. I'm sure Ladybug and Cat Noir are already on the job!"

She was painfully aware of the way her breath clouded in front of her. Manon gave another powerful shake and Marinette pressed her closer to her body to share warmth. The thought to pull out the scarf she'd made for Adrien ran through her mind. It would help keep them warm… that was if she hadn't left it in her backpack right outside the merry-go-round. Why had she done that? It didn't make sense in hindsight! Marinette rubbed Manon's shoulders instead. Ladybug and Cat Noir would be there soon. They would get them out.

Something shifted above them and Marinette's heart dropped into her stomach. The small stalactites weren't so small anymore. They stretched down, closer to their heads now and wickedly sharp. Their weight made them shake and clink together ominously. Manon's hands curled deeper into her jacket. "I hope they get here soon."

Crack!

Marinette looked up and gasped. Crashing sounds rang through the frozen space. Her eyes went wide as she saw a crack grow and and spread on one stalactite a hair's breadth away. Without thinking, she pulled Manon into her arms and scrambled backwards. Ice shards smashed to the bottom of the merry-go-round's raised platform. Some pieces raked across the tops of her unprotected feet where her shoes didn't cover. Marinette felt the scratches bleeding. Manon sobbed in terror. The ice above them kept shaking as more and more of the stalactites fell to the ground. She dove for one of the carriage seats that was close, slipping on ice as she pressed Manon underneath one of them for cover. There wasn't any room for her though, so she covered her head with her arms.

Then everything went still again.

Marinette raised her head slowly, wary of any ice that hadn't fallen. The puffs of her visible breath matched the tempo of her racing heart. The fallen ice had refrozen where ever it had landed. A thin sheet layered the platform, the tops of the carriage seats, and across the horses' saddle indentations. It had built up about an inch or two around the base of the poles. That wasn't the only thing though. More ice stalactites had taken the place of the ones that had fallen. Little points but quickly growing. The thing that struck the most fear into her though was the fact that ice ceiling now hung even lower and closer to their heads. Marinette's throat closed up. "It's freezing solid!" She wasn't able to stop the words from coming nor could she keep the horror out of her voice.

"Is it safe to come out now?"

"Um… stay there for now okay."

Thunk!

Marinette ducked as something hit the outside of the dome. Ice shook and clattered overhead. The same thing on the outside hit again. And again. And again. Small pieces fell with each plow but she easily protected herself with just a raised arm. "Are Ladybug and Cat Noir here?" Manon said, voice full of hope.

"I think…" Marinette's voice trailed away. She fully expected to see red and black spots or total black on the other side of the dome. However, she saw brilliant white instead. "Chat Blanc!"

"Marinette?" he yelled, much clearer than what she should've been able to hear. That's when she caught sight of the thin strip of silver alongside the white. His sword! The hits against the outside! He was…

"Here!" she called out to him. She crouched down to look at Manon. "It's much too cold in here. Let's get out of here."

Manon grabbed her offered hand and Marinette hauled her up out of her hiding place. By the time she'd slipped her way over to the blurry outline of Chat Blanc, he'd managed to chip away a decent sized hole. He sighed in relief when she slid in front of it. His concern for her was rather sweet. She smiled weakly at him. Then he ruined it in the next breath. "Marinette! Ice to see you're okay."

"Don't start!" she told him, jabbing her finger through the hole at him.

Chat Blanc grinned. "How's the kid with you?"

"She's fine. We're both okay."

"Take this." Chat Blanc said as he turned his sword over and pushed the handle through the hole. "We'll tag team it. You with my sword and me with my claws."

A shock seemed to go through Marinette's arm as she wrapped her hand around it. This was an akuma's sword. She could almost feel it's power. "Be careful of the tip. It's sharp. The middle part isn't though so you can hold it there. I'll work on the top. You chip away on the bottom."

The ice shifted above her. "Be careful. The ice is really sharp and it's already fallen once on top of us. It won't be long until it falls again and everything is freezing solid." she said quietly so that Manon didn't hear her. She hated the way her tongue felt heavy and thick as she spoke.

A flash of darkness passed over his face. "We'll hurry."

He raised his claws and unbidden her mind raced back to the memory of the times he grabbed her. He'd never used them to harm her but it had been hard to ignore how sharp they were when they'd dug through her clothes. Now Marinette got a first hand look at just how dangerous they were as they tore through the ice like it was nothing. Marinette swallowed and pressed the tip of the sword into the ice.

Her hands went numb. Tiny chips fell away and landed like thick snow on her feet. She did her best to ignore the dull ache in her toes as the amount of ice around them built up. Blow by blow and swipe by swipe, the hole in the ice got bigger and bigger. Another crack echoed over her head. Marinette stopped dead in her tracks, Chat Blanc's sword still poised for another strike. "Marinette…" Manon whispered, tugging on her jacket.

"Time's up!" Marinette said. She shoved Chat Blanc's sword back through the foot and a half wide hole. Chat Blanc jolted and just barely caught it before it dropped on the ground.

"The hole, is it…" His voice trailed away as he ran his hand over the opening. It was still so tiny. Marinette shoved the knee jerk thought to the back of her mind. Manon would fit through without a hitch. Marinette on the other hand…

Nope! She couldn't go there!

"It will have to be," she said as she steeled herself. She scooped Manon into her arms. "C'mon Manon! Up you go! Grab her Chat."

"Got her!" Chat Blanc cried as Manon slipped easily through the hole. Then again, Manon's size hadn't been the issue.

Marinette scrambled to find a place to put her feet on the sheet of ice. An involuntary shiver coursed through her body as she latched on to the hole. The first pieces of ice rained down behind her. Marinette paused just long enough to turn and stare back at it with wide eyes. "Hurry!" Manon screamed.

Chat Blanc cursed. Needles of pain tore through her numb arms as he grabbed on to them. Marinette jumped. Chat Blanc pulled. They fell to the ground on the other side of the dome as a stalactite hit the ground right where she'd been standing. "Marinette!"

Manon dove in between the two of them and buried herself in Marinette's neck. "I hate the merry-go-round! I never want to ride it again!"

She laughed weakly. "Yeah that definitely wasn't very fun this time around was it?"

"Can we go have cake now?"

"I think you're going to have to take a rain check on that cake kid." Chat Blanc said as he pulled himself up. His face was as white as his suit as he stared over at the picnic table. Marinette went pale too. The girl in purple that she'd seen hovered over it. All of her friends were in the process of fleeing as Cat Noir dodged back and forth between flying decorations and debris in hurricane force winds. Welp. That was the end of Adrien's party she guessed. So much for making time to give Adrien his present personally. He'd probably run for cover with everyone else. Apparently it didn't matter whether or not she had the courage to give it to him. The akuma took care of that pretty well. "Get inside and undercover." he told her firmly. "Wait for everything to blow over."

Marinette ignored the little wink he gave her. "What about you? What are you going to… Chat Blanc! Wait!"

Too late. Chat Blanc was already sprinting off to go help Cat Noir. Marinette groaned, smacking her forehead with a hand. "Stupid cat."

Manon looked up at her curiously. "Do you know him?"

"Me? What? K… know him? Of course not. Don't be silly Manon. Me, friends with Chat Blanc."

She just stared at Marinette blankly. For an awkwardly long time. Marinette laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her neck. "Ladybug is still cooler." Manon finally said.

"Oh most definitely." she agreed. "Let's get out of here."

She took Manon's hand and started for one of the park's entrance gates. Several news crews had already formed outside. Police cruisers had already pulled up to the side of the road and were attempting to set up a barrier between the citizens and the public. Most of her classmates huddled around the opposite side of the street to watch the fight. Someone yelled out in excitement as Ladybug came swooping through the air and over the park's fence.

"Mama?" Manon said suddenly and loudly. Nadia Chamack spun about, eyes wide as she looked for her daughter. The moment she found her she shot straight for them. Marinette let go of Manon's hand so that she could meet her mother half way.

"Manon! Thank goodness you're alright. Stormy Weather burst through the Kidz+ studio doors on a warpath and I knew she was going to head to the park for the photoshoot and knew you two were here for a birthday party I just…" Mme. Chamack said. She broke off before finishing the thought and shook her head.

"We're okay. We got trapped in the merry-go-round but we're fine." Marinette assured her. She plastered a smile on her face like it really hadn't been as terrifying or as close of a call as it really had been.

Mme. Chamack picked Manon up. "Come on mon ange. Let's get away from here. Marinette let me take you home so your mother doesn't worry about you."

"Don't you have to report on the akuma?" asked Manon as she twisted to look over her shoulder at the fight that was going on.

"No sweetie. There are other reporters that can cover the story. Come on Marinette. I parked over on the other street."

"Thanks Mme. Chamack. That would be fan…" she started. However, as Marinette went to wrap her hand around the strap of her backpack she only touched the shoulder of her jacket. "My backpack!" she all but screamed.

It, along with her gift for Adrien, was still sitting next to the merry-go-round. Mme. Chamack said something to her. It probably had something to do with her just leaving her backpack and coming back for it at another time. She couldn't do that though. All that time and work. The very thought of leaving it behind killed her soul. "You don't understand! I have to go back and get it."

"Marinette, it isn't worth it. It's too dangerous!"

"Ladybug and Cat Noir are here. They've got the akuma under control. It will take me, like, a minute to grab my backpack. I'll be right back!"

"Marinette!" called Mme. Chamack. Marinette was already running though.

Her backpack was right where she'd left it. Lying safely in the grass though the wind seemed to be doing a good job of pulling at the straps and charms on it. Marinette guessed that the fairly weighty wrapped present inside kept it from going the same way that leaves, paper, and twigs went. Through the air. Marinette bent to pick it up and no sooner had she dropped to her knees did a deafening roar blast through the air.

Marinette cried out as she fell to the ground. The sound got lost in the ripping wind. She doubted that anyone actually heard her. Her pigtails came loose. Her clothes flapped against her. Maybe this hadn't been such a great idea. It was just a scarf after all. Adrien most likely had tons of them. The direction of the wind shifted.

A loud yowl went through the air. Chat Blanc. Or at least that's where her mind went immediately. It wasn't Chat Blanc though. It was Cat Noir. He went sailing through the air in the opposite direction of her with Ladybug careening gracelessly closely behind him. So much for keeping the akuma occupied. Then she heard a very dignified yelp. " _That's_  Chat Blanc." she muttered as she looked up.

She followed Chat Blanc's arc with her eyes… and realized that he was heading straight for her. Marinette snatched her backpack and rolled out of his way right in the nick of time.

Chat Blanc landed, sprawled out feet away from her in the dirt. "Ow…" he whined.

"I thought cats were supposed to land on their feet." Marinette said as she poked him on the shoulder.

He lifted his head and gave her a sour look. Of course it was marred by the fact that he had a leaf stuck to his forehead. "You try being tossed through the air like a ragdoll and see what happens."

"What did you do to her?" Marinette climbed to her feet and grabbed him under the arm to help him up.

"Called her Elsa the snow queen."

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Good job."

"Apparently her name is Stormy Weather."

"That's what Mme. Chamack says. She also says that she came out the Kidz+ studio ready to tear through the city like a tornado."

Chat Blanc whipped about, eyes bulging out underneath his mask. "What are you still doing here?"

"I had to get my backpack." she answered simply. She slung it on to her shoulders. Chat Blanc gaped at her.

"I told you to get to cover."

Stormy Weather cackled. Chat Blanc jumped to cover Marinette, arms splaying wide. It didn't matter though because the akuma shot into the air and away from the park. Outside the park, the police cars and news vans went flying into the air. Metal hit metal as everything collided in one heaping pile. "Predict this Mireille!" laughed Stormy Weather before zipping off to wreak havoc on another part of the city.

"I guess it doesn't really matter anymore." murmured Chat Blanc. "Seriously, get out of here. I'm going to go see if I can separate her from her possessed item. I'll come find you later on tonight."

"Do you have a plan?" asked Marinette.

He waved his hand through the air dismissively. "Get her umbrella. That's where the akuma's at."

The umbrella, as in the thing she was flailing around like a madwoman. As in the thing that she'd used to encase the merry-go-round in gradually freezing solid ice. The thing that had rocketed two very experienced heroes and Chat Blanc fifteen feet into the air. His grand plan… to just grab it? Like it was a random stick on the ground. He didn't honestly believe that was going to work did he?

He patted her shoulder and started forward. Marinette did a double take. He was leaving? Seriously? Chat Blanc was leaving. So he could attempt to grab an umbrella? Her hands moved on their own. Chat Blanc squawked as he was jerked back to Marinette's side by his belt tail. "Hey!"

"Are you insane!" demanded Marinette, hands tightening around his tail. She smacked him with it. "That's not a plan! That's an final move."

"I don't…" he started.

Marinette cut him off. "Understand? Listen Chat Blanc. I don't know exactly why you're on this crusade. I'm assuming that you have some sort of noble intention otherwise I would've pushed you out my window and screamed for my dad that first night you came to my house. Now you're about to rushing off like an idiot. You're going to get killed!"

Somewhere along the way she'd let go of his belt. Currently he was holding it and staring at her with an incredibly mystified, open mouthed, stupid fish look! "I'm not letting you go out there and risk your life to play hero without some semblance of a plan!"

"Wh… what do you suggest my lady?" he stammered still staring at her.

She pulled back. Oh boy. She had no idea where that had come from. What did she suggest? Her gaze fell to the general direction that Ladybug and Cat Noir had fallen. The vague thread of an idea wove its way into her brain. "What's the one thing that every akuma goes after?"

"Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous." he answered immediately.

"Right which means that Stormy Weather is probably no different. Give her enough time and she'll be after them too."

"And it will be sooner rather than later knowing Papillon. He's incredibly impatient." muttered Chat Blanc. Marinette raised an eyebrow but he chose not to elaborate. She wanted to press him but it didn't seem like a very good time to do that. "The akuma looks familiar. If we could figure out who she is that might give us some insight as to where she might go."

"Mme. Chamack said that she came out of the Kidz+ studio." Marinette told him.

"She was also yelling about Mireille. Sounded like she was royally ticked off with her."

They both paused. Then at the same exact time they gasped, "Aurore!"

"She lost the competition and now she's angry." Chat Blanc said.

"I didn't catch the results but I'll take your word for it. She's definitely trying to prove something. She's looking for an audience. The bigger the better."

"Where would she reach the most people?"

"How much do you wanna bet that she'll make her way back to the studio at some point?"

"You think so?"

"I bet you could follow her path of destruction right back there. There's still the question about how to get that umbrella from her." Marinette tapped her chin and let the thought roll over in her mind. "Did Ladybug and Cat Noir have any ideas?"

"I doubt they would tell me even if they did. I'm not exactly high on their list of allies y'know. Being a former akuma and all that."

"Doesn't change the fact that they will still have to track down Stormy Weather and cleanse her…"

Marinette stopped talking as the idea began to take root in her brain.

"What?" questioned Chat Blanc. "You got an idea?"

"Is it wrong come up with a plan that solely revolves around Ladybug and Cat Noir doing all the work?"

A grin spread across his face. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not a lazy sort of cat but I wouldn't object to letting them handle relieving Stormy Weather of her umbrella. I kinda let them do that with Open Book."

"Well you're going to do it again. Get to wherever Stormy Weather is, wait for Ladybug and Cat Noir to show up, and make sure you have that umbrella when one of them breaks it."

"Once I have it, I get the heck out of dodge."

"Exactly! The problem is that eventually the pair of them are going to get wise to that particular plan and they aren't going to let a possessed item out of their grip." Marinette said quietly. She scrunched up her nose. "I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there then."

"Yeah, I guess we will." he smirked. Marinette narrowed her eyes at him.

"What's  _that_  look for exactly?"

He wiped the smirk off his face with impressive quickness. "Nothing! Nothing at all my lady. Now  _please_ get home. I'll come see you tonight."

"Be careful." she told him.

"Who do you think I am?" Chat Blanc laughed, spreading his arms out wide and throwing a wink at her. Marinette fought back a cringe as she watched him bound away.

"Marinette!" yelled Mme. Chamack.

"I'm coming!" she called back. She pulled her backpack higher on to her shoulders and raced back to her side.

Mme. Chamack's face was stern. "Don't do that to me again. What would your mother say?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Marinette followed Mme. Chamack back to where her car was parked. As they fought their way through the crowd it suddenly dawned on Marinette why Chat Blanc had been smirking at her. She'd just willingly become his accomplice and admitted it. A headache, the kind with sharp and shooting pain, formed behind her temples. Terrific!

X X X

"Any sign of her?" Ladybug called to Cat Noir. She turned a small circle as she looked over the abandoned studio. Mentally, she kicked herself. She was a journalist. Her entire life happened to be cameras and filming. Cameras did more than just broadcast things. They recorded too. It irritated her to no end that Stormy Weather had set them up with a hack rate recording passed off as live.

"No, she's just…" The lights cut out as Cat Noir spoke. "Gone. Well that's not good."

Unabating wind filled the studio along with the excruciatingly annoying high pitched laugh of Stormy Weather. Ladybug's braid slapped her in the face and Cat Noir's hood nearly blew off his head. "Don't know about you but I'm really not feeling getting thrown through the air for a third time today." Ladybug told him.

"At least there are no buses coming at our heads this time around. We've  _got_  to get that stupid umbrella away from her." he replied. There was a metallic groan that couldn't be missed. Spoke too soon! Cat Noir leapt sideways, ready to pull Ladybug away from a threat she couldn't see in the dark. Then he saw what had made the groan. "Oh you've got to be kidding me." he groaned.

"What is it? What do you see? Is it Stormy Weather?" Ladybug asked in one single breath. Cat Noir watched Chat Blanc give him a little wave and salute as he disappeared through the now open emergency exit door.

"Chat Blanc followed us."

"Great! Just what we needed." hissed Ladybug.

"At least he found us a way out." he said, grabbing her hand. "Come on!"

Ladybug grimaced as he about yanked her arm out of socket with the first pull towards the stairs. "I don't need you to hold my hand! My eyes are adjusting. I can see just fi…"

Cat Noir definitely saw the fire extinguisher flying at their head way before Ladybug did. It hit the railing inches from where her nose had been before Cat Noir threw them to the opposite side of the stairs. "You know what! On second thought, lead on Kit Cat."

The door to the roof banged open as Chat Blanc obviously got there before them. They burst through it seconds after him. The pitch black of the stairwell turned into the grayish-green darkness of a looming storm. Chat Blanc was no where in sight but Stormy Weather hovered by one of the metal exhaust vents for the building's air conditioner. "Look who finally showed up." she sneered.

"Sore loser much Aurore?" Ladybug called up to her, striding past Cat Noir and throwing her hands wide. "Your temper tantrum has Paris at a standstill."

"Not very good sportsmanship if you ask me dude." Cat Noir agreed.

"I'm not Aurore anymore!" she shrieked. Ladybug and Cat Noir's eyes bugged out of their skulls as they saw the massive sphere of white ice that bloomed on the end of her umbrella. "It's Stormy Weather!"

She thrust the umbrella out. Ladybug and Cat Noir dove away from each other for cover. However the ice went wide, shooting benignly over the tops of their heads. Ice crystals grew up towards the top of the Kidz+ billboard. Stormy Weather growled viciously as she spun in the air to face the person that had knocked her shot off course. Ladybug's jaw dropped and Cat Noir audibly smacked his head against the metal pipe he'd taken cover behind.

"And you wondered why I called you Elsa the snow queen." Chat Blanc said cheekily, bouncing what looked like a huge lump of hail in his open hand. Several more lumps lay scattered at his feet. He stood perched on the corner of the building on top of the giant electrical housing unit that supplied power to the entire studio.

"How on earth did he sneak up there without her seeing him?" grumbled Ladybug. She looked over at Cat Noir for an answer. They  _were_  best friends as their alteregos. Cat Noir still happened to be beating his hand against his skull. He'd be no help.

"Seems pretty fitting to me."

"What are you doing here Chat Blanc?" Cat Noir snapped, finally abandoning his attempt to give himself a concussion.

Chat Blanc threw them a wide, cheshire grin. "Oh y'know… I didn't want to get left out in the cold on this stormy event."

"You should be helping me." Stormy Weather said. Her voice dripped with caustic anger that was uniquely different than the shrill anger that had seemed more natural. Ladybug shivered. It was as though the words weren't quite Stormy Weather's.

If Chat Blanc picked up on it, it didn't show. He shrugged his shoulders. "Is that what he told you? Hmm, interesting. I guess I could if I really wanted to buuut I don't so I won't." he explained.

Stormy Weather clenched her jaw together. She whipped her umbrella around. "How are you even still  _possible_?"

He pressed a finger to his lip and winked. "Shh! It's a secret."

Cat Noir snorted. He quickly pressed a hand to his mouth to suppress his laughter.

"Stay out of this." Stormy Weather let out a mild burst of wind in threat. It did nothing more than pull at his hair and tail. Definitely didn't phase him at all. Instead, he just sat down on the electrical unit and let his feet dangle.

"Sure, not a problem. Nice umbrella by the way. Very sleek. Adds a touch of magic to the entire villainous get up. I preferred my foil but to each their own."

Chat Blanc made point blank eye contact with Ladybug. His chin lifted ever so slightly in Stormy Weather's direction. She blinked in surprise. Was he… was he helping them? That seemed a lot like telling them where he thought the akuma was. Ladybug nodded and Chat Blanc nodded back. There would be a time to question this little development but first they needed to deal with Stormy Weather.

"Let's go Kit Cat! Lucky Charm!" Ladybug tossed her yo-yo into the air.

"Give us something good!" Cat Noir practically begged. A length of red and black spotted cloth fell into Ladybug's hand. "Um… Any useful ideas?"

"Give me a moment." snapped Ladybug right about the same time that Stormy Weather's high pitched laugh cut through the air. Fat, white snowflakes pummelled them, twisting in the gale force winds. They made it hard to see the ice that Stormy Weather lobbed at them. Cat Noir jumped in close to her, raised his staff over his head, and spun it as fast as he could to keep the ice off of them. They'd both seen Mireille frozen solid on the way up to the studio's news floor.

"Hurry because my arms are going to get tired."

Ladybug ran down the list of things she had to work with. "Um, okay… We've got lots of piping. A half-frozen billboard. Frigid cold. Wind. What else? An obnoxious pun making  _already cleansed_  akuma that keeps coming back for some reason."

"You've also got an electrical unit and exhaust vents." Cat Noir added. "Though unless you can think of a way to get Stormy Weather down on our level there's no way we're going to be able to grab her umbrella."

An idea clicked into place. "I have a yo-yo with infinite string and a piece of cloth. Let's see if we can catch her off guard with her own wind."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Get her to stop trying to blow us off the roof and freeze us solid."

"Ah! Distractions! My favorite. I think I can handle that."

"Not the billboard. I need it."

"One distraction without destroying the billboard coming up!"

They gave each other a quick nod and then split. Ladybug zig-zagged as ice came after her. Behind, Cat Noir raced to get behind Stormy Weather and into her blind spot. "Cataclysm!" he called out, leaping on to one of the exhaust vents.

The metal grate melted under concentrated bad luck. The fan spun erratically as it tried to keep up with the speed of the wind influencing it. Cat Noir jammed his staff into the vent. His heightened hearing picked up almost every single ear grating sound the contact create. However, just like he'd hoped, the fan stopped dead. "And into the air you go!" he grunted, throwing his entire body weight down on to his staff.

The fan jerked loose and Cat Noir fell to the roof with an 'oof.' It was more than heavy enough to fly even in the strong wind. Not quite heavy enough to cut a very accurate path through the air though. Even still, Stormy Weather screeched and immediately manipulated the air around her so that the fan went way wide instead of just slightly wide. Cat Noir loved knee jerk reactions paired with depth-perception issues. Other people's bad luck was his good luck.

Stormy Weather had absolutely no time to recover. Ladybug didn't give her a chance to. That red and black spotted piece of cloth dropped out of the sky above and thanks to Stormy Weather's sudden change of wind direction, it struck her straight in the face and wrapped around her. The wind and ice stopped as she struggled to untangle herself. Ladybug gave a whoop as she zipped from off the top of studio billboard, angling in a sharp downward arc on her yo-yo. "No!" yelled Stormy Weather.

"Yes!" Ladybug cheered, ripping the umbrella from her grasp. "Don't you know it's dangerous to use umbrellas in a storm!"

She snapped it in half awkwardly in midair. Satisfying music to her ears. However, she had to let the pieces drop to the ground since there was no good way to hang on to them. Stormy Weather screamed as she plummeted out of the air without her source of power. Cat Noir sprinted to catch her. "Gotcha! I gotcha!" he told her before setting her on the ground gently.

As soon as Ladybug hit a solid surface, she spun her yo-yo over her head. Familiar power and white light glowed from it as she released it at the fleeing black butterfly. "And I've got the akuma!"

Light flared brightly and her yo-yo popped open to let the snow white, purified butterfly flit into the sky above. Ladybug wrapped her yo-yo around the cloth piece that Cat Noir had unwrapped from Stormy Weather's face in the next pass. "Let's just wrap this all up now. Miraculous Ladybug!"

Dazed and disoriented, Aurore looked up at Cat Noir in confusion. He gave her a reassuring smile and a thumbs up. "You all good now?"

She nodded. "Wh… what happened? Where's my umbrella? It's  _supposed_  to be a good luck charm."

"It's right over…" Cat Noir started to point out where Ladybug had dropped it. Only it was glaringly missing. "Um, Ladybug?"

"Yeah?" she called back as she dropped back on to the main level of the roof.

"Where's the umbrella?"

"It's right…"

Ladybug stopped midsentence. She had her hand raised to point at the spot where it should have been. That's when she realized that not only was the umbrella missing but so was Chat Blanc. "You have got to be kidding me!" she spat, raking her hands through her scalp.

She hadn't even gotten a chance to search through Adrien's house for Amice's test before Stormy Weather appeared. Now he had a second akumatized object too! So much for 'good luck' powers.

* * *


	9. Calm Before the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to Imthepunchlord. No, this fic isn't abandoned. I'm just gonna chuck this out here and slip back into my hole.

“No, I haven’t had a chance to give Adrien his gift.” Marinette groaned into her phone.  She massaged the bridge of her nose.  

 

“Oh mon chere.” Alya sighed on the other end.  “We’ll just make sure you can get it to him at school!” 

 

Marinette made a little noncommittal noise in the back of her throat.  The pretty wrapped box sat on the coffee table in front of her.  The book that Chat Blanc had left with her was what currently sat in her lap.  Marinette also had her school tablet next to her on the living room couch as she slid through some of the very unhelpful responses she’d gotten to her translation question.  Chat Blanc hadn’t asked about any leads when he’d seen her that afternoon but if he followed his usual pattern that meant that Marinette had an umbrella coming her way later that night.  There would most likely be a question about it also.  She just wished that it was a little bit more favorable.

 

She also happened to have a lot of time on her hands now too.  She was grounded.  Her parents had liked her running back into the park for her backpack about as much as Mme. Chamack had.  Not at all.  A codex to the strange language in the book would’ve lead to a welcome distraction of getting the translation under way.  “You still there Marinette?” asked Alya.

 

“Yeah, sorry.  I got distracted a bit.” Marinette apologized as she flipped over to the Ladyblog.  Alya had all her latest photos uploaded.  There were even some of Chat Blanc this time around.  He’d probably get a kick out of that.  Marinette couldn’t stop the smile that pulled at the corners of her mouth when she saw the one of him jumping off the side of the roof with an umbrella in two pieces clasped firmly in his hand.  “I did see though that wherever you left your memory card was close enough that you were still able to get some nice shots of the fight.  How’d you get up on to the roof without Ladybug and Cat Noir seeing you?”

 

“Huh?  Oh, that… well I guess you can say that I have my ways.” Alya answered in a tone that distinctly said that there was no way she’d divulge that secret.  Fair enough.  Marinette seemed to have her own fairly big secret.  

 

“You even got some of Chat Blanc this time around.” Marinette pointed out.  She giggled when she saw the one of him pelting a chunk of ice at Stormy Weather.  She bookmarked that one.  

 

Alya groaned.  “I guess he’s here to stay for whatever reason.”

 

“Not the biggest fan of his I take it?”

 

“Let’s not go there okay.  Let’s just… not.”

 

“Alright.  Fine by me.” Marinette agreed easily.  With her horrible luck, she’d wind up saying something and giving away her sort of involvement with him.  “I can’t believe the party ended that way.”

 

“I know and before you even had a chance.  Next time girl.  It will be your turn next time for sure.  We’ll march right up to him at school and--” 

 

Somewhere around the middle, Marinette heard something.  A voice coming up from the open door to the bakery.  A familiar one.  One that she’d heard several dozen times as Adrien had been dropped off at school.  The one that told him to remember that he had a photoshoot during lunch break.  Basketball after school.  Fencing before dinner.  Harping on him for forgetting his lunch in the car.  “M. Agreste’s assistant is here!” she gasped.  

 

“Wait?  What?” Alya stuttered to a halt midthought.  

 

“Nathalie!  M. Agreste’s assistant.  The one that always drops Adrien off at school.  She’s in the bakery!” explained Marinette.  The barest outline of a plan started forming in her brain.  Thread after thread pulled together in it, especially as she stared directly at Adrien’s present laying on her parents’ coffee table.  “I have an idea!” 

 

“Dare I ask what it is?”

 

“I’ll give his present to Nathalie so that she can give it to Adrien!”

 

“No!  No don’t do that!” Alya said sharply.  “That is the exact opposite of what we talked about.”

 

“But Alya!” she whined.

 

“Give it to him in person.  Remember?  It means more that way!  That’s what we decided on.”

 

“If I give it to her now though, he’ll get it on his birthday!”

  
“You’re not suggesting this just to get out giving it to him face to face are you?” 

 

Marinette scoffed.  “Don’t be ridiculous.”

 

She snapped the book shut and set it under her tablet to hide the cover.  Sliding off the couch, she double checked to make sure the wrapping was perfect.  The edges were still crisp and clean like a professionally wrapped box from the mall.  The bow still fluffy and bouncy to the touch even after being in her backpack.  Her card laid on top of it all with the special curly writing that she only broke out for special occasions.  Yes!  The present was in perfect gift giving condition.  “Marinette I have a really bad feeling about this.” Alya warned her.

 

“It will be fine.  Don’t worry!” she assured her.  “I gotta go!  Talk to you later!”

 

Marinette hit the end call button on her phone.  She jumped off the couch, swept the package into her arms, and charged for the stairs to the bakery.  Just as she had suspected, M. Agreste’s personal secretary was there.  She hung over the display case and eyed the cakes and pastries with a frown.  “Don’t you have anything… bigger?” the woman at the counter asked her father, looking up with a heavily disheveled expression on her face.  Not anything close to what Marinette expected to see on anyone who worked for Gabriel Agreste.  Everyone knew that he expected nothing but perfection for all those who worked under him.  His personal secretary usually kept herself right in line with those standards.

 

“I’m sorry.  On such a short notice and so close to closing time, the only thing we have is what’s in the case.” her father said apologetically.  “We can make something custom order for later in the week if you want.”

 

Nathalie shook her head.  “No, it’s his birthday  _ today _ .  Anything on a later date would be unacceptable.”

 

Marinette’s jaw dropped.  She’d forgotten Adrien’s birthday!  That was the only reason Marinette could see for her to be in this late and this frantic for something.  The fact that she wanted an even larger item than the three layer tiramisu cake also helped with that assumption.  How horrible.  At least they’d been able to give Adrien a surprise party even if it had been interrupted by and akuma.

 

“Very well,” sighed Nathalie.  She pointed to a stunning chocolate tart.  “I’ll take that one please.”

 

Well, as late and fairly thoughtless as it was, at least she’d gotten something that Adrien was sure to like.  Her father stepped to the case so that he could box up the pastry.  Marinette stepped out past the counter and towards Nathalie.  She cleared her throat.  “Mademoiselle…” Marinette broke off because she couldn’t remember Nathalie’s last name.

 

It didn’t matter though because Nathalie turned around and looked at her anyways.  One eyebrow raised over the rim of her glasses.  “Yes?”

 

“I’m a friend of Adrien’s… from school.” she said by way of explanation.  Nathalie’s expression didn’t change.  Maybe Alya was right.  Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.  She swallowed her sudden rush of nerves and went on.  “At his party today, I didn’t get a chance to give him his gift.  I was wondering if you might be able to take it to him for me.”

 

Marinette held out her gift towards Nathalie.  For a moment Nathalie just stood there looking at her and the box.  Her eyes went up and down in a careful observation with a neutral expression.  Marinette curled her fingers tighter around the box and tried to keep the bright smile on her face.  Finally, Nathalie gave a stiff nod.  “I suppose I can.”

 

“Thanks so much!” Marinette breathed out a relieved sigh.  Her smile turned into something less forced.  Nathalie took the box from her and tucked it under her arm.  

 

“Alright, is there anything else I can get for you?” Marinette heard her father ask.

 

“No, I think this should be all.  Thank you.”

 

Nathalie turned away from her towards her father.  Marinette gave him a little wave as she passed him.  He waved back before going back to finishing up selling the pastry to Nathalie.  “Mission accomplished!” murmured Marinette as she mounted the stairs for her house.

 

And she hadn’t even had to worry about making a fool of herself in front of Adrien.  She gathered up the book and her tablet before heading up to her bedroom feeling quite satisfied with herself.  

 

She wasn’t all the way through the trapdoor when she saw the flash of white outside her window.  Involuntarily, her heart jumped into her throat and she missed the step.  “Marinette,  _ Qīn _ , are you alright?” her mother called to her.

 

“Fine!  Just tripped.” Marinette called down quickly.  She pulled herself into her room, threw the door shut, and locked it.  Chat Blanc poked his head into view, upside down with his hair hanging in his face and a sheepish smile plastered on.  Very subtle of him.  When she didn’t move to let him in right away, he waved at her.  “You know I have trapdoor on my roof right?” she pointed out as she opened her window for him.

 

“You do?” he asked, clearly taken aback and curious.  “I didn’t know that.”

 

Marinette sighed, “Not very observant while you’re prowling around my house are you?”

 

“I don’t prowl.  At least not around your place.  That would be rude.  And weird.  And probably a little creepy.” he told her.  

 

Chat Blanc slipped into her bedroom easily.  It was nice to know that he didn’t lurk around her bedroom when she wasn’t aware of it.  “Next time, use the trapdoor.  If either of my parents found out that you, who still  _ looks _ like an akuma, hung around my bedroom then you’d be a dead cat.”

 

Or if Ladybug and Cat Noir happened to pass by.  Marinette couldn’t see that situation working out any better.

 

“Fair enough.” shrugged Chat Blanc.  He held out a pretty blue umbrella to her.  “For you Princess.” 

 

Marinette quirked an eyebrow.  “I’ll put it in my closet so no one sees it.”

 

“You were expecting this?” 

 

The grin that stretched across Chat Blanc’s face was about as close to insufferably smug as a person could get without being one hundred percent obnoxious.  “Well you seem to be using me as a storage facility for everything else.  It was an easy assumption.”

 

“Can’t argue with that logic.  Your plan went off without a hitch just so you know.  Ladybug and Cat Noir didn’t even see it coming.  Ladybug literally just dropped it out of the sky.  Barely had to work for it.”

 

“Don’t get used to it.” Marinette reminded him.  “This isn’t going to fly again.”

 

“Yeah, yeah.  I know.  You’ll just have to help me figure something out the next time I have to go get a possessed item.” he told her.  His smug, cheeky, little smile hadn’t disappeared.  In fact, if anything, it had only gotten bigger.

 

Marinette huffed, “What do you mean ‘I’ and what is with that stupid smile?” 

 

“Earlier today at the park you said we would cross the whole Ladybug-won’t-fall-for-the-same- trick-twice bridge and then just now you.  Key word being ‘we.’”. 

 

That made her freeze.  “I thought you didn’t want me involved.”

 

“No, I really didn’t want to.” he mumbled.  His faux cat ears went flat against his head and the smug smile died on his face.  “What I’m doing… It’s dangerous and to make matters worse I don’t really know what I’m doing.”

 

“You’re doing this by yourself aren’t you?”

 

He nodded, “And every single step I take I have to either tip toe or look over my shoulder because…”

 

“Because of Papillion.” Marinette finished for him when his voice dropped off.  He didn’t say or do anything to acknowledge the assertion.  Thankfully, she was smart and could piece it together herself.  She doubted that Papillion was super enthusiastic about having one of his former minions acting on their own accord.

 

“I should take all the stuff.  The test, the umbrella, the book… I should take it from you and put it somewhere else so you aren’t in danger.  It was never meant to be a permanent thing anyways.”

 

He said it more to himself than anything.  His hand wrapped around whatever he had hiding underneath his bell as he looked towards her bedroom window.  Marinette bit her lip. “No…” she shook her head.  “No, don’t do that.  Leave it here with me.  I can keep it safe.”

 

“Princess,” he started.

 

Marinette shook her head.  “No!  You don’t want to tell me what’s going on exactly.  That’s fine.  I don’t need to know everything.  Whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish it has to be for the sake of good and you clearly need someone to help you.  After your ‘I’m just gonna grab it’ scheme this afternoon at the park I’m pretty sure you need someone to keep you from getting yourself killed by either Papillion or Ladybug and Cat Noir.”

 

“I’m mildly offended that you doubt my sense of self-preservation.” He wrinkled his nose up as he spoke.  “And how can you be so sure that I don’t have a nefarious motive.”

 

“You might look like an akuma but you’re more likely to chase butterflies.  Whatever end goal you have in mind, it can’t be terrible.”

 

“I’m glad that you have some faith in me.” Chat Blanc smiled.  It was a subdued smile but a smile nonetheless.  “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

 

Marinette nodded.  She held out her hand to him.  “Partners?”

 

“Can’t think of one more  _ purr _ -fect.”

 

“Get out.” Marinette grumbled, throwing her hand towards her window.  That just made him laugh.  He jumped forward and threw his arms around her shoulders.  Marinette froze up again, eyes going wide and jaw dropping.

 

“You really are the best!” 

 

She fought tooth and nail to keep the blush from taking over her face.  Marinette’s face was only mildly pink when she gently extracted herself from the impromptu hug.  Chat Blanc’s grin was back to it’s usual dazzle.  “Oh!” he said suddenly.  “Anything on the book yet?”

 

“No…” she sighed.  She set the umbrella against her desk and sat down.  Chat Blanc followed her and craned his neck over her shoulder as she opened the mystery book.  “I’ve gotten a few crack pot comments but nothing that’s really helpful.  I’m going to bump the post again to see if I get a few more responses.  If not…”

 

Chat Blanc frowned.  “We’ll have to figure out something different.”

 

“Yeah.  Don’t give up hope yet.  There might be something after I bump it.  Come back in another couple days and check to see if I’ve got anything new.”

 

He groaned, “If we’re officially working together we need a better way to communicate.”

 

A thought popped into her brain.  Marinette opened her mouth and then she shut it again just as quickly.  Chat Blanc immediately picked up on it.  He shot her a look.  Well, she was already pretty far down the rabbit hole anyways.  She might as well.  “Do you have a cell phone?” she asked.

 

“What kind of question is that?” he snorted.

 

Marinette held up her own.  “I do too.  Give me your number.”

 

It was apparently Chat Blanc’s turn to freeze.  His eyes even glazed over as he stared at her with a hanging jaw.  “I can’t give you my phone number.”

 

“Why not?” She threw her hands into the air.

 

“I just can’t alright!”  He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair in evident frustration.  If she had to take a guess it probably had something to do with the fact that he was still trying to keep her in the dark for her own protection.  “Give me a day.  I’ll get a phone that will be just for you and I.  We can get a hold of each other that way.”

 

Marinette nodded, “Alright then.  Maybe by that time I’ll have more to tell you about our book.”

 

“We can only hope.”  A bright light flashed at his neck, under his bell.  Chat Blanc wrapped his fingers around the bell and frowned.  “I have to go now.  Some might start missing me soon.”

 

“Be safe on your way home.  Try not to get ambushed by Ladybug and Cat Noir.  They aren’t going to be very happy with you from here on out.”

 

“Meh, I’ll survive.”  He gave a shrug and then a little salute as he started for her loft where she’d told him the trapdoor was.  “I think this will be the start of a wonderful new partnership my Lady.”

 

“Go home Chat.” She gave a little sigh and waved him up the stairs and out the trapdoor.

 

It closed with a soft click.  Marinette sunk down on her bed, staring at her closed trapdoor.  Partners… for good or ill, she and Chat Blanc were in this trip together now.  She didn’t think it was nerves or fear that made her stomach twist at the shift in their relationship.  No.  If Marinette had to take a guess, she’d say it was the anticipation and excitement that did it.  

 

She wondered if that was a good thing. 

 

Marinette shook her head and stood again.  She had a forum post to bump and a secret code to see if she could bust.

 

X   X   X

 

Chat Blanc jumped into his room.  Bright light flashed before his feet even hit the ground.  By the time he landed on one bent knee, he was Adrien Agreste again.  A cat like grin spread across his face as he stood.  “Oh yeah!  Stuck the superhero landing!” 

 

If a butterfly could look unimpressed, it was definitely Mari.  Mari hovered in the air for a half moment before fluttering off to where Adrien had a little bowl of sugar water set up.  He shrugged.  “Everyone’s a critic but not bad for a day’s work right?  Had my first ever birthday party, fought an akuma, got away with another possessed item right under the noses of Paris’s greatest heroes.  And I even still have time to work on homework.”

 

Mari left the edge of the bowl and landed on his hand.  Immediately images hit his mind.  Marinette holding the umbrella he’d handed over.  Her looking at the book he’d stolen and asked her to keep safe.  The voice of Papillion haunting his thoughts over the image of his father.  All of it held a wary question.

 

Was bringing Marinette into this the smart thing to do?

 

Short answer… probably not.  

 

There was constant danger.  If Papillion ever found out about her, Marinette would become a weapon.  His kryptonite if he wanted to break out the comic references again.  She was quickly becoming the person who knew everything that could possibly hurt him.  Possessed items and a magical book that held the secret to why they were all so important.  He’d be royally screwed if Papillion ever got his hands on her.  Marinette was technically a liability to him.  Adrien scrunched his face up.  That just sounded callous.  Like he only valued her for what she could give to him which wasn’t the case at all.  

 

Marinette was his friend.  Someone who was genuinely kind to him and not because he had money or happened to have a father who was in the very industry she was passionate about.  It was hard to come by friends like that.  The very last thing he wanted was to see Marinette hurt or in danger.  That had very little to do with the fact that she a liability.

 

However, standing in that park with the wind and ice blowing all around them without a single solitary good idea on how to stop it had made him realize something.  Marinette was smart.  She was a planner.  She was capable.  She could truly help him.  She’d taken his excuse of a plan, which was mainly just hope and prayer, and turned it into something that was actually helpful.  Without her, he’d have most likely ended up frozen in an icicle or blown clear to the coast.  Not only that, but Marinette was right.  He was doing this all completely by himself.  Okay.  So maybe he had a magical, former akuma butterfly with him but it wasn’t the same as having an actual person to work with.  It made for a lonely mission and he’d had enough loneliness in the past couple of years to last him a lifetime.  He wanted Marinette on his side despite how selfish the idea was.

 

Adrien swallowed and finally answered Mari.  “No it isn’t a good idea but I think I need her help.  Did you see the way she acted in the park.  She took charge.”

 

Mari sent another flood of images through his brain.  Marinette’s balled fist when he first tackled into her while running with Open Book’s test.  How she’d pointed a pair of scissors at him when he’d come to retrieve it.  Her unwavering determination in the park.  “Marinette is strong.  I’m pretty sure she’ll be okay.”

 

“Adrien.”  A knock came from the door.  His head snapped up at the sound.  

 

“Nathalie!” he whispered under his breath.  Mari fled from his hand and hid under his bed.  Good timing too because the door opened half a moment later.

 

“Who are you talking too?” Nathalie asked.  She lifted an eyebrow as she studied him.  Adrien plastered a smile on his face and wished he had his cell phone in hand.  

 

“Um… no one… myself?  The walls and loneliness are closing in on me.  I must be losing my mind.  Finally gone off the deep end with stress.”

 

Wow!  He sounded stupid and desperate.

 

Nathalie stared at him with an unimpressed look in her eyes.  “I’m sure.” 

 

Everyone was a critic tonight.  

 

That’s when Adrien noticed that she was hiding something behind her back.  He twisted his head to the side to try and catch a better look at it.  “Did you need something Nathalie?” 

 

She held out a pretty blue box wrapped with a perfect ribbon to him with one hand.  “Your father sends his regards and regret that he couldn’t be with you on your birthday again this year.  There is also a fresh pastry downstairs for you to take with you to school tomorrow.”

 

Adrien blinked in confusion.  “Dad got me this?” he said, pointing to the box in her hand.

 

“Yes,” Nathalie told him with a resolute voice.  “Would like to open it now or tomorrow morning?”

 

“Sorry,” he shook his head as he took the box from her.  “I’m just surprised that he actually got me something.”

 

“Your father always gets you a gift.” 

 

Maybe, but never on time.  Adrien bit back the words as he untied the ribbon and opened the box.  Part of him expected something half-hearted, like the fountain pen he’d gotten last year.  The minute the lid was off though, he immediately felt bad about the assumption.  Inside the box was a beautiful and sinfully soft blue scarf.  He dropped the box as raised the scarf to his face.  It was handmade.  Adrien’s breath caught in his throat.  His dad had actually put some genuine thought into his gift this year.  

 

“You should make sure you call him and tell him thank you,” Nathalie reminded him.  She bent down and picked up the discarded box.  She slipped a piece of paper that she’d been holding in her other hand into the bottom before closing it up.  Adrien assumed it was the shipping label or something.  

 

“I… I will.  Tomorrow morning.  First thing before school.”

 

“Good.  Now you should get ready for bed.  Don’t forget that just because your father cleared your schedule for you today doesn’t mean that you don’t still have your commitments.”

 

“Yes ma’am.”

 

Nathalie left the room.  The door closed with a soft click behind her.  Adrien felt Mari land on top of his head.  A stream of images of his father with the intimidating sound of Papillon's voice filled his head.   _ You should be helping me. _  Stormy Weather’s words ran through his head.  Mari’s warning was well received.  “I know it doesn’t make sense and I know he could just be trying to lure me into a false sense of security now that he knows I’m not answering to him… but there’s nothing that says that Supervillains can’t love their kids.  It doesn’t change my desire to find out the truth but… but just let me have this.  Okay?  If only for tonight.”   
  


Mari sent a wave of warmth through him to let him know his wishes were accepted.  Adrien folded up the scarf.  While Nathalie wanted him to get ready for bed, he still had some things he needed to do before turning in for the day.  Such as figuring out where the best place to get a pair of burner cell phones was.  

 

X   X   X

 

“He just turned off his light a few minutes ago,” Ladybug whispered as Cat Noir came to crouch beside her.  He pulled out his baton and zoomed in on Adrien’s room like Ladybug was doing with her compact.

 

“Any sign of the test or umbrella?” he asked.

 

Ladybug huffed a sigh.  “No.  I got caught up with talking to Marinette and uploading those pictures to the Ladyblog didn’t go smoothly.  I only got here about an hour ago.  He’s spent most of his time on his computer.  Couldn’t see what though.”

 

Cat Noir rolled his eyes.  It was probably anime.  Adrien hadn’t been able to shut up about the new season of something or other being out over the past couple of days.  Ladybug didn’t need to know that though.  “Was the website the problem or was it debating on whether or not to upload the pictures of Chat Blanc?”

 

“The last one.  I had to maintain my image of impartial fan.  Tikki thinks I’m overthinking it.”

 

“You probably are.  I give you props for continuing to update that thing.  Peter Parker’s got nothing on how you rig your camera up to take pictures.”

 

Ladybug gave a snort.  “Peter Parker’s got nothing on me.  Though I wouldn’t mind if I could figure out some way to chase after Chat Blanc with a camera to see what happens after he flees.”

 

“Maybe gain some clues as to why this keeps happening to Adrien in the first place.”

 

“Exactly.”

 

They sat in silence for a minute or two, watching the quiet and dark room.  “When he showed up today did he seem any stronger to you?” Ladybug asked.

 

Cat Noir shook his head.  “No more so than what we’ve already seen.  Plagg says he probably hasn’t extracted it yet… if he even knows how to.”

 

“Which could mean that he still hasn’t handed them over to Papillon.”  

 

“Or that Papillon is just saving the magic up for an even bigger akuma to throw at us.”  Cat Noir then paused.  “There’s something else we’re not considering Ladybug.”

 

“And what’s that?”   
  
“You heard Stormy Weather.  She was genuinely surprised that Chat Blanc wasn’t trying to help her.  Angry even.  It’s  _ possible _ that Chat Blanc isn’t working with him now.”

 

Ladybug stood.  Her mouth set into a thin line.  Cat Noir watched as she turned away from him, eyes downcast.  She nodded for him to follow her.  Apparently, they were done watching Adrien sleep for the night.  “Adrien is our friend,” Ladybug said quietly as they made their way across the roof.  “I don’t doubt that he truly has no idea of what’s happening.  I don’t want to believe that Papillon’s still using him.  It hurts me just as much as it hurts you.”

 

“Still doesn’t mean you that he isn’t though right?” Cat Noir filled in for her.

 

Ladybug reached out and caught his hand.  She squeezed it.  “I trust Adrien Agreste, not Chat Blanc.  We have to be careful.  This could be Papillon’s way of getting us to let our guard down.”

 

“I believe the saying goes keep your friends close but your enemies closer.”  Cat Noir turned to look back at Adrien’s room.  A vicious, angry feeling roiled through his gut.  “I have to give my best friend the side eye every time I see him now.  When I get my hands on Papillon…”

 

“Same Kit Cat.”

 


End file.
